Liver transplant denied because patient was using medical marijuana - it cost him his life!

      Good Day World!

The tragic fate of Norman B. Smith is all you need to know about to see how senseless it is to make consumption of marijuana a crime.

In New York they get that:

New York Patient Advocates & Health Care Professionals Rally for Medical Marijuana Bill

Patients suffering from severe debilitating or life-threatening conditions could be treated with medical marijuana under legislation introduced by Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried and Senator Diane J. Savino.  New York’s bill A. 6357/S.4406 is co-sponsored by 68 other legislators.  The bill was reported from the Assembly Health Committee today by 21-4, including 3 of the Committee’s 7 Republicans voting in favor.

“If the patient and physician agree that the patient’s severe debilitating or life-threatening condition should be treated with medical marijuana, the government should not stand in the way,” said Gottfried.  “It is cruel to deny treatment to patients who are suffering or to turn them into criminals.”

Medical Marijuana and Health Insurance

By the end of 2012, 18 states and the District of Columbia permitted the use of marijuana as a viable medical treatment option for chronic illnesses such as AIDS and cancer.

What is viewed as an alternative treatment has been gradually gaining approval for over fifteen years as an acceptable method for reducing pain and nausea, and increasing appetite. Other benefits include a lesser toll on the liver, kidneys, and other organs usually subject to failure from other medications.

Though legalization has given suffering patients assistance in various states thus far, there is still a long road ahead for those seeking to have their medication covered by health insurance. Currently, health insurance plans scarcely cover cannabis if they do so at all. With legalization comes soaring prices, and as any patient knows, medications paired with treatment costs add up quickly. Paying entirely out of pocket for medical marijuana has cost some patients several hundred dollars per month or more, depending on the severity of their illness. (Read more here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…