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.

So, I suck at life during the winter months. I won’t apologize or make excuses – I’ll just recap some of the things I’ve failed to mention in my absence and move along like it never happened. Okay? Okay. In no particular order…

Obama’s in The House! On January 20th, Barack Obama was inaugurated into the White House as the first African-American President in history. With this inauguration comes a lot of hope on the Marijuana Law Reform front – President Obama has admitted to using marijuana, and has said several times that he believes the War on Drugs has been “an utter failure” and that we need to rethink the laws concerning marijuana use. He has also been supportive of the medical marijuana initiative, and has promised to stop the raids of medical marijuana patients and dispensaries where they are legal.

Is Change Coming to the Drug Czar’s Office? Former Seattle Police Chief, Gil Kerlikowske, has been appointed as our nation’s next Drug Czar. Although Kerlikowske is a cop, he is from Washington, a state that has allowed the use of medical marijuana under doctors’ orders, and made marijuana-related ‘crimes’ their cops’ lowest priority. According to Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, “Whereas Kerlikowske’s White House predecessor (John Walters) refused to even acknowledge that cannabis possessed even the slightest hint of therapeutic value, Seattle’s exiting police chief accepted the law and has made few, if any, efforts to undermine it.” Let’s be optimistic that some good might come of this…

Obama’s (Half)Brother Arrested for Marijuana Possession. On January 31st, George Obama, the half-brother of President Barack Obama, was arrested in Kenya for the possession of Marijuana. Although this happened a world away, I would hope this hits close to home and reminds our new President just how ridiculous marijuana prohibition really is.

Michael Phelps is the Gold Medal Winner of Bong Hits. On January 2nd, News of the World reported that Michael Phelps was pictured taking a bong rip at a South Carolina house party in November. Phelps later apologized for his “regrettable behavior” blaming bad judgment for his “youthful and inappropriate” act. Even after the apology, the Kellogg’s Company chose not to renew Phelps’ sponsorship contract because his behavior is “not consistent with the image of the company.” As a result, NORML has asked the Cannabis Community to boycott Kellogg’s.

Marijuana Law Reform is America’s Top Political Priority. In November, I made a post urging everyone to get Marijuana Law Reform on the agenda at Change.org. I am now happy to report that legalizing the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana was voted number one out of the top ten ideas to change America, with 20,158 supporters!

…In the American People, that is. At least somewhat.

Not only have we just made history by electing the first black man as president, but we’ve made even more progress on the law reform front.

For the first time in history, a decriminalization initiative appeared on the statewide ballot in Massachusetts, and voters passed it by a huge majority. This initiative will rid all penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replace it with a fine of one-hundred dollars. This fine can be paid through the mail, much like a traffic ticket, without the need for attorneys or court appearances.

Another huge step was taken in Michigan, where voters passed MPP’s medical marijuana initiative, making Michigan the thirteenth Medical Marijuana state. Michigan is the first state in the Midwest, and the second largest in the country, to permit the use of medical marijuana by seriously ill patients.

According to an email I received from Rob Kampia, the Executive Director of the MPP, “As a result of tonight’s victory, almost one quarter of the nation now resides in states with medical marijuana laws.”

For the first time in a very, very long time, I am proud to be an American citizen. Maybe this all means everyone is getting their shit together and the sand out of their vaginas. Here’s to hoping…