Proud To Be A Filthy Liberal Scum

Crossposted from Addictinginfo.org

Whenever I write about marijuana I always feel the need to clarify that I do not smoke pot and I never have. If it was fully legalized tomorrow, I would not run out and buy some. The only way I would is if a doctor prescribed and even then I would not do it willingly. I say this because people have a tendency to dismiss pro-marijuana articles as propaganda written by pot heads who want their favorite hobby legalized. I could care less. With that in mind, I also always feel the need to point out that marijuana is not addictive in a chemical sense like, say, cigarettes nor a psychological sense, like, say, gambling both of which are legal in this country. More importantly, marijuana has legitimate and well documented medicinal uses unlike, say, cigarettes and gambling.

So it was very surprising to read this article about two patients at a hospital being denied transplants for “substance abuse.” Via Toke of the Town:

Patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) recently discovered that a second patient at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has been denied a transplant in the past year because of their medical marijuana use.

…

Trujillo and Smith were both told that they must not only test negative for marijuana for six months to re-qualify for the wait list, but also take drug abuse counseling for the same period. Both are complying with the requirements and have chosen to forgo using medical marijuana, though it has a significant therapeutic benefit for them.

Smith could especially benefit as he is currently undergoing chemotherapy for his cancer, and his appetite is severely diminished. It appears Trujillo and Smith may eventually be put back on the list, but at the bottom. Trujillo recently contracted peritonitis, a bacterial infection, as a result of her dialysis.