Medical marijuana in New York State

Dear Governor Pataki,

I write today to urge you to support A. 8265 / S. 5040, the medical marijuana bills recently introduced by State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and State Senator Vincent Leibell, respectively.

To let you know where I'm coming from, I am a law-and-order Republican and a strong supporter of law enforcement. I am also the husband of a wonderful woman who was successfully treated for ovarian cancer five years ago, and I saw first-hand both the debilitating side-effects of chemotherapy and the remarkable efficacy of marijuana in reducing a chemotherapy patient's discomfort and enabling them to eat normally during treatment.

The anti-nausea medication prescribed for my wife at the time just piled side-effects on top of side-effects, and (when she could swallow the pills at all) made her nervous and even more physically uncomfortable in addition to being nauseated.

Because New York does not have a compassionate-use medical marijuana program, I did the only thing that I could do: I risked criminal sanction (arrest, prosecution, loss of standing in the community, even jail time) for both myself and my wife by buying marijuana for her, illegally, "on the street."

I did this with the knowledge and consent of my wife's medical care team at the time, and if, God forbid, I am ever in a similar situation, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Why? Because the relief that she obtained from marijuana was immediate, effective, long-lasting, and without further side effects. It works. Simple as that.

The real point here, of course, is that I shouldn't have to put myself at risk in order to help a sick person feel better. The sick person shouldn't have to put himself or herself at risk in order to feel better.

And that's the point of S. 5040 / A. 8265, too.

Law enforcement has no business whatsoever in this domain, and current laws in New York are both disrespectful and willfully ignorant of the real human needs of people with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and many other serious and even life-threatening conditions whose symptoms or treatment side-effects are being successfully treated with legal medical marijuana in more enlightened jurisdictions.

The growing list of medical marijuana supporters already includes the Medical Society of the State of New York, the New York State Nurses Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the Associated Medical Schools of New York, the New York State Hospice and Palliative Care Association, the New York StateWide Senior Action Council, the New York State Association of County Health Officials, the New York State AIDS Advisory Council, and 66% of New York voters, according to a 2003 Zogby poll.

Please do the right thing and commit publically to supporting New York's medical marijuana legislation. The legislature should pass legislation enabling doctors to prescribe marijuana for their sick patients, and you should immediately sign it into law.


Best regards,

Barry Campbell

Related: The Marijuana Policy Project has a page set up to monitor activities in New York State. You can also write your legislators and Governor Pataki directly from their site.