Dying Patient Kicked Out of Hospital for Using Medical Marijuana
Source: NBC
Dying Patient Kicked Out of Hospital for Using Medical Marijuana
"Any particles from vapor and odor could have an impact on other patients and hospital employees," UCSF said in a statement.
...................
Angel Raich, who fought for the right to use medical cannabis in the US Superme Court back in 2004 and 2005, talked to us outside of UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco moments after she said they booted her out.
"The pharmacist says 'youre not allowed to have canabus in this hospital,'" Raich said. "'And if youre gonna try to have canabus in this hospital were going to call the Feds.'"
Raich said she checked into the hospital Monday morning for doctor-ordered tests on her brain. She suffers from chronic pain and seizures from an inoperable brain tumor and doctors didn't give her very long to live, she said.
"'Youre basically saying if I stay its like giving me a death sentence 'cause Id have to be without my canibus,'" Raich said she told a hospital employee.
Read more: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Dying-Patient-Kicked-Out-of-Hospital-for-Using-Medical-Marijuana-142425965.html
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Due to federal laws on pot and state restrictions on smoking in hospitals.
Trillo
(9,154 posts)Unfortunately, this corporation revealed itself as a radical authoritarian.
virgogal
(10,178 posts)bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)I didn't see anything about brownies, though...
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)and she was using a vaporizer.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)Something doesn't smell right here.
siligut
(12,272 posts)It doesn't have to be smoked to be effective.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)would indicate what form was being used, and the hospital told her no cannabis allowed not no smoking cannabis allowed
one could say she did not have to tell them but I'll bet they were also monitoring her THC blood levels
cbayer
(146,218 posts)While it doesn't create smoke from burning, it does create a vapor which is released into the air and exhaled by the patient.
Monitoring THC levels in someone that uses MJ regularly is totally useless and there is nothing that prohibits a patient from using edible MJ in a hospital (or anywhere else in CA).
Two points -
Vaporized MJ would be absorbed by other patients and staff.
This person is described as a "celebrity" in the world of MMJ activism. I would guess that she might have a history with this hospital, was being militant and is playing the story of getting "thrown out" for all it's worth. It appears that she voluntarily left after being told she couldn't use her inhaler.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)now maybe your more familiar with this person than I am as it says she has fought in court, but the OP article does not say and only really gives the hospitals statement any further statement from her was cut short apparently because she had a seizure
cbayer
(146,218 posts)Here is the part about the inhaler:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/medical-marijuana-advocate-claims-she-was-thrown-o/nLRRn/
and this is the one where she is called a "celebrity"
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/medical-marijuana-advocate-claims-she-was-thrown-o/nLRRn/
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)maybe edibles don't work for her. perhaps she needs a vapor dose to relieve her pain or stop her seizures.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)Second, there is no reason that she can't dose herself with edibles. They are well labeled here and, once familiar with a product, can be dosed very accurately.
Anyway, I think there were alternatives for her other than this. The hospital has a point. An inhaler subjects others to something that they may not want and that they may even have an adverse reaction to.
I think she was trying to make a point and perhaps the silver lining is that hospitals will needs to develop clear policies about this.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)and some people don't like the effect of edibles. i can only take them in very small dosages, but they do help me sleep.
i am not sure what type of device she was using, but a vapor pen doesn't have any impact on anyone else. one person objected to her use, and i find it hard to believe s/he was the only person who saw her. but i agree...she was probably trying to make a point.
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)then it goes against State law. Period. Why is she not using edibles? They do not violate the smoking ban and I am sure UCSF would allow this.
On edit: I want to add that I am 100% on board with medical MJ but, like with cigarette smoke, I do not want to have to "participate" in your smoking against my will.
quakerboy
(13,920 posts)but I have as yet to hear of a hospital refusing to allow friends with home baked treats to visit an ailing patient.
I would expect a hospital to react negatively to a person smoking marijuana. Or vaporizing. Or smoking cigarettes. Or spyce. Or Clove cigarettes. Or incense. Or really anything that creates an air pollution and effects others.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)vapor pens don't really impact anyone else. edibles may not have the effect she needs to control her pain/seizures. i really like edibles for pain, but i think the vapor helped her control seizures, at least that's what i gleaned from the article.
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)Even if you think it's ok to smoke pot, isn't your right to smoke pot where ever you want. Nor should it be ok in hospitals.
lame54
(35,294 posts)UCSF Medical Center has one of the largest brain tumor centers in the nation. With recent advances in treatments, the outlook for patients with brain and spinal cord tumors has significantly improved.
http://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/brain_tumors/
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)lame54
(35,294 posts)they could have supplied her with baked goods (under the table of course- fucking neanderthal drug laws)
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)I mean, just because she's fucking dying, her doctor sent her there, and the pot was for medical use what right does this woman have to dump her terrible habits on you. I bet she doesn't even get up to open the window. I mean how rude can you get.
Next time her brain tumor bothers her she should think about THE CHILDREN and stay home to suffer.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)and since she is dying, she should use whatever helps her.
MADem
(135,425 posts)She should have brought her brownies with her, IMO...
uwep
(108 posts)Are the Democrats in on this???????
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bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)24601
(3,962 posts)conservative city in the most inbred redneck state in the nation. Didn't SF vote for Bush over Gore by a 3-2 margin and Bush over Kerry almost 2-1. Or maybe I just dreamed that last night.
msongs
(67,420 posts)virgogal
(10,178 posts)proof of the dumbing down of journalism.
MADem
(135,425 posts)as far as the issue of "cannabis in the hospital" goes, hey, don't ask, don't tell. Who's gonna notice if someone comes by and she scarfs down a brownie or a cookie? You can't get a nurse to come with a frigging glass of water, they're so overworked.
The question is, does she have any friends or advocates who could have helped her in this fashion--or is she being left alone in her hour of need?
OKNancy
(41,832 posts)as my Dad was dying of lung cancer.... and this was in Arkansas!
I think the doc actually got it for him... my memory is fuzzy ( rough time)
MADem
(135,425 posts)They had lounges and such! Some places, you could take an elevator to the roof and puff away...!
Nice doctor--he got the "First, do no harm" thing down cold. I hope when it's my turn I have a doctor with half as much sense and compassion, if I am in a situation where I know before I go.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)I'm not seeing a lack of sympathy, I am seeing a conversation about realities.
What I am seeing is that the hospital is in a tough spot. All it takes is one asshole to report the joint for allowing someone to smoke a joint, and the place could be shut down and people fired. So that would "help" the situation? Answer: No--it would not. It would just fuck over a bunch MORE people.
I am also seeing that people "in the know" are saying that one can get edible medicinal MJ in CA. Not being from there, I don't know if that is so, but if it is, that would be the way to do it. Or, she could go old school and have someone go get a box of Duncan Hines brownie mix and a couple of eggs and fire that shit up.
I am not seeing a lack of sympathy here. I am seeing a logistical discussion of the realities surrounding this issue.
TheKentuckian
(25,026 posts)Vaping isn't smoke, there is no combustion. It is a totally different principle at work and the objections are a joke.
I've heard of plenty of very ill people who couldn't tolerate eating at all without getting high first and the public health tact gets awfully damn weak once the smoke is eliminated. This happy horseshit is just more of the control freaks acting a fucking monkey that will throw the world under the bus rather than move a milimeter off their dime.
MADem
(135,425 posts)thread) it only takes ONE ASSHOLE to screw the works up. If one person complains that she is violating state or federal law, and the hospital adminstration ignores that complaint, then the hospital's certification and ability to operate could be in jeopardy.
The hospital had better be very careful when they find an entirely valid reason to fire that jerk--they don't want there to be any suggestions of reprisal or retribution.
As I said, someone should sneak the patient into the bathroom to do what needs done.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)Berkeley-based Dr. Frank Lucido , Raich's primary care physician, says that Raich needs to use marijuana every two waking hours, and denying her the drug amounts to "malpractice," according to a statement on Raich's website. "Angel will suffer imminent harm without access to cannabis."
Television viewers saw exactly what Lucido is talking about, as Raich suffered a seizure during her brief interview with NBC. Raich was then taken to St. Mary's Hospital on Stanyan Street, according to NBC.
I don't see what the big deal is about her using a vaporizer, given her condition. One doctor or pharmacist objected, but other hospital workers must have seen her, and apparently did not object.
Smilo
(1,944 posts)So there may be smoke - then find another way.
Don't tell me that there is no cannabis use in hospitals - ask the staff
Drs and nursing staff need to think outside the box and look at alternatives - brownies anyone?
MADem
(135,425 posts)The stuff was not prescribed by the hospital.
She would have been better off bringing her own edible medication.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)but i'll hazard a guess and suppose it was probably a pen type vaporizer. she should be able to use that without impacting anyone else.
maybe she doesn't get the benefit from edibles that she does from a vaporizer.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I do know that, years and years ago, I had a close in-law whose mom was dying of cancer, and she couldn't smoke it, but she did very well with the brownies. There were no "vaporizers" back then, this was the dark ages. This was way before MM as a concept was even on the table--it was just a vague rumor that it worked for some, and my in-law was ready and willing to try anything because the poor woman was in agony. It did work, it did make her end of life and passing easier.
I guess we'd have to know what the specifics were in order to comment; as well as know what the specific objections of the staff were.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)i recently got involved in the MM community: vapor pens are amazing devices, and i cannot wait until i can afford one. some people don't like the effect of edibles. i am one of them. i use edibles to sleep, not to function. while they do relieve pain, they make me too drowsy, so i can only take them in small dosages or at home. a vapor pen has a different effect for me, so i assume different delivery methods has different effects on the user. the odd thing about this story is only one person objected, and threatened to call the feds. i can't believe other people were not involved, who did not object. still... i guess i can see why the main institution doing research on the benefits of medical marijuana would object to a dying person using it on their campus, perhaps.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Perhaps someone should have gotten her into the crapper, and she could have "sneaked" in there.
In some situations, it only takes one jerk to screw it up for everyone else. I think that's probably what happened here--one "rules happy" authoritarian decided to hold this woman to the letter of the law, because he or she had the "power" and could...not because it was the right thing to do.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)subterranean
(3,427 posts)I counted three different spellings of the word 'cannabis' in this article.
DreamSmoker
(841 posts)This Woman is one of the Highest Nails in the Board..
Fact is she is putting her life out there in support of all the MMJ Patients who are suffering and persecuted..
This could be your Mother or Sister.....
In California... Patients must go to a special Doctor to get a Medical Cannabis Recommendation and to Protect the Patients
from denial of Medical Insurance Coverage..FACT..
Just the Fact you use Cannabis in any way can result in Medical Insurance Benefits being instantly denied..
Your regular Doctor can choose not to treat you anymore and turn you in to your insurance company. Denial will result...
Next is Congress OKs Drug-Testing for Unemployment Benefits..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1170305