Robin Prosser was a former concert pianist and systems analyst from Montana who suffered from an immunosuppressive disease similar to lupus for over 20 years. The disease stiffened her muscles, limited her mobility, and caused chronic pain, heart trouble, nausea, and migraines. It also made her allergic to most pharmaceutical painkillers, and the ones she wasn’t allergic to had no effect.

Only medical marijuana brought her relief, so she looked to local law enforcement authorities for permission to grow her own marijuana to keep a steady supply of medication without having to fear being arrested or prosecuted, but Police Chief Bob Weaver stated that Prosser would “be busted if she grows pot and we learn about it.”

According to this article from the MPP, Prosser emailed her therapist explaining that she was going to commit suicide because she was not able to deal with the constant pain anymore. When the police showed up at her house, they found her nearly unconscious after having taken prescription sleeping pills ordered off the Internet. They also found a little marijuana and two pipes.

She was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia because, according to Police Captain Marty Ludemann, “the reason we charged her is Montana does not allow the medical use of marijuana.” He also stated that “if it happened tomorrow under the same circumstances, we would arrest her again.”

The charges were dropped, so long as Prosser stayed out of trouble for nine months, and six months later, Montana passed a medical marijuana initiative. It seemed as though Prosser’s troubles were over until federal law enforcement officers intercepted the medicinal marijuana her licensed caregiver had sent her through the mail.

After this incident, Prosser had a lot of trouble finding the type and quality of medical marijuana she needed to help with her symptoms. She experienced excruciating pain in the following months until on Oct. 18, 2007, she took her own life.

This isn’t the first time the government sentences innocent people to death because they smoke marijuana, and I’m sure, unfortunately, it won’t be the last. This was an extremely intelligent woman who used to make beautiful music, but because our government denied her the only medication she could take, she’ll never strike a piano key again.

All I can hope is that she’s at peace and pain-free, making beautiful music in another life.

A 56-year-old man in Washington, suffering from Hepatitis C, died Thursday because he couldn’t get a liver transplant. The University of Washington Medical Center denied the man, Timothy Garon, potentially life-saving surgery based on the fact that he uses medical marijuana under his doctor’s supervision (and in accordance with state law.)

UWMC said it would reconsider its denial if Garon enrolled in a 60-day drug treatment program; when Garon tried again to change their minds, UWMC upheld it’s prior decision. The problem is, he didn’t make it that long.

Garon used marijuana to treat his Hepatitis C-related nausea, abdominal pain, and lack of appetite. According to Dr. Robert Sade, director of the Institute of Human Values in Health Care at the Medical University of South Carolina, “Marijuana, unlike alcohol, has no direct effect on the liver,” and Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, “There are no pharmacological or physiological reasons why Tim Garon, or any medical marijuana patient, should logically be denied access to life-saving or life-enhancing organ transplants.” So why was this man denied?

Individual hospitals have the authority to create their own criteria for transplant eligibility; there is no national or statewide standard.

After hearing of the committee’s decision, Garon said, “I’m not angry, I’m not mad, I’m just confused.” Well, me too. If it is legal for him to smoke medicinal marijuana in the state of Washington, then the hospital should not have the authority to deny him surgery that could save his life based solely on that fact, especially with scientific evidence saying that it’s okay!

Lennon Garon, Timothy’s son, is also concerned about the future. “He’s not the first person that this happened to. He’s not going to be the last person until these policies are changed.”

I think it’s absolutely disgusting that they’d sacrifice Timothy Garon on the ‘altar of pot prohibition’ rather than treating him like they would any other suffering person! He’s a human being first and a pot smoker last (AND. ITS. LEGAL!) – People need to think about these things before they make such rash decisions!

You can read more about this case here, here, and here, and contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500.