Proponents say legalizing medical marijuana in Florida could help those suffering
September 7, 2013|By Ludmilla Lelis, Orlando Sentinel
For 20-year-old Michael Budzynski, the good days are when he doesn't suffer the terrible seizures that ruined his mind, leaving him with the mental capacity of an 18-month-old.
On those days, the Eustis man isn't enduring migraines, and his restless leg isn't thrashing. His mother, Marilyn, sees glimpses of the bright, fearless little boy she knew before he was devastated by Dravet syndrome, a severe and incurable form of epilepsy that targets children.
She is convinced that medical marijuana — used successfully on 40 other people nationwide with the same syndrome — could give her son more good days. It's banned in Florida, but that could change if a statewide ballot initiative to make it legal succeeds.
"It gives me new hope that I haven't had in a long time. Our Michael has deteriorated to a miserable state," Marilyn Budzynski said. "We should not be denying people who could benefit from a chance at a better quality of life."
Medical marijuana has been legalized in 20 states and the District of Columbia for a wide range of medical conditions — cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and Lou Gehrig's disease, as well as epilepsy.
Although it's illegal under federal law, Justice Department officials have said that prosecuting medical-marijuana cases in states where it's legal is not a priority.
Orlando trial attorney John Morgan is championing the drive to make it legal in Florida through a state system that would license treatment centers and register patients. The petition drive, run by People United for Medical Marijuana, needs nearly 700,000 verified signatures by February to make it onto the November 2014 ballot. The group already has more than 100,000 signatures, enough to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of the ballot language.
Opponents counter that medical marijuana could pave the way for recreational use and further drug abuse.
Morgan said medical marijuana helps his brother, Tim, a quadriplegic who would otherwise take eight Percocets a day to relieve severe spasms. He saw how it eased the pain for his father, who died 25 years ago this week from cancer and emphysema.
"I know it works, and I know if it became legal in Florida, it would help tens of thousands of people," Morgan said. "Why would we deny someone who is terminally ill the most compassion and the most mercy at the end of their lives?"
Anecdotal evidence and a growing body of studies show medical benefits from marijuana as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory drug that is less addictive and has fewer side effects than other pain medications already available by prescription.
However, opponents of legalization question the medical benefits of marijuana. The Florida Medical Association is opposed to medical marijuana and advises doctors to refrain from prescribing it unless its use is approved in the future by the Food and Drug Administration.
The Florida Police Chiefs Association also remains opposed to legalization. Such a change could open opportunities for abuse, addiction and crimes related to marijuana use, the association contends.
"As a career law-enforcement officer, I do not want to have to deal with the effects that impaired individuals cause to other people," said Philip Thorne, chief of police in the Panhandle town of Springfield and president of the police-chiefs organization. "It creates all kind of issues associated with marijuana in general.
"Everybody and their brother would abuse the system to get marijuana."
Florida proponents want to set up a tightly controlled system to regulate the use of medical marijuana, hoping not to repeat problems with California's law, which is more lax.
The Florida referendum would require special ID cards for patients who receive physician's prescriptions to buy the drug through state-licensed treatment centers. The proposal would not allow people to grow their own.
"They don't want California, where with a wink and a nod, a witch doctor could give out a prescription," Morgan said. "People are OK with it, but they want it highly regulated."
One of the biggest arguments against marijuana legalization is its potential as a "gateway" drug, in which marijuana users progress to more addictive illegal drugs, such as heroin or cocaine.
But Morgan strongly disputes that characterization.
"For people with cancer, the nausea is debilitating, and the pills they give you don't work. But marijuana works," he said. "The only gateway drug for these people is the morphine they will receive at hospice."
Mary Anne Meskis, executive director of the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, said the concern about medical marijuana as a gateway drug also doesn't apply to patients such as Michael Budzynski who suffer from extreme seizures.
"Our kids will never lead a normal life," Meskis said. "They will never be out and about trying recreational drugs."
In fact, the successful uses of medical marijuana among Dravet syndrome patients involve a distilled form, administered as a liquid and made from a strain of marijuana low in THC, the psychoactive chemical that causes the marijuana high.
That's the strain being used by Charlotte Figi, a 6-year-old Colorado girl whose story was featured on CNN and helped to turn the network's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, into a medical-marijuana convert.
Marilyn Budzynski has been in touch with the Figi family and has been moved by the girl's dramatic improvements. With the marijuana treatment, Charlotte doesn't have violent seizures and is a playful, active child.
That's how Budzynski remembers Michael, when he was 4 years old and still swimming and climbing and enjoying amusement-park rides. He loved reading his favorite books aloud. He used to run with abandon in their yard, laughing and playing with his siblings.
Michael suffered his first seizure when he was 6 months old, suddenly twitching on an August night for no apparent reason. He continued to grow, but the seizures didn't stop, despite different drugs, diets and therapies.
By age 4, the seizures took their toll, and he started regressing. He started losing the dozens of words he could speak. One day, Michael blanked out when he was supposed to say his prayers. He stopped walking at age 9 and has had a lifetime of emergency-room trips and complications.
He still has seizures about three times a week, daily migraines and frequent vomiting, likely an effect of harsh medications. He has lost 20 pounds in the last year and now weighs 78 pounds. He rarely speaks and can't care for himself. Although he has lived longer than most Dravet patients, there is no hope for a cure.
His mother wishes she could see her son make the progress that Charlotte Figi has made.
"Our kids have such severe conditions, they have a lot more to gain," she said. "This is not about giving our kids a drug to smoke. It's about giving them quality of life."
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...marijuana-marijuana-use-florida-supreme-court
September 7, 2013|By Ludmilla Lelis, Orlando Sentinel
For 20-year-old Michael Budzynski, the good days are when he doesn't suffer the terrible seizures that ruined his mind, leaving him with the mental capacity of an 18-month-old.
On those days, the Eustis man isn't enduring migraines, and his restless leg isn't thrashing. His mother, Marilyn, sees glimpses of the bright, fearless little boy she knew before he was devastated by Dravet syndrome, a severe and incurable form of epilepsy that targets children.
She is convinced that medical marijuana — used successfully on 40 other people nationwide with the same syndrome — could give her son more good days. It's banned in Florida, but that could change if a statewide ballot initiative to make it legal succeeds.
"It gives me new hope that I haven't had in a long time. Our Michael has deteriorated to a miserable state," Marilyn Budzynski said. "We should not be denying people who could benefit from a chance at a better quality of life."
Medical marijuana has been legalized in 20 states and the District of Columbia for a wide range of medical conditions — cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and Lou Gehrig's disease, as well as epilepsy.
Although it's illegal under federal law, Justice Department officials have said that prosecuting medical-marijuana cases in states where it's legal is not a priority.
Orlando trial attorney John Morgan is championing the drive to make it legal in Florida through a state system that would license treatment centers and register patients. The petition drive, run by People United for Medical Marijuana, needs nearly 700,000 verified signatures by February to make it onto the November 2014 ballot. The group already has more than 100,000 signatures, enough to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of the ballot language.
Opponents counter that medical marijuana could pave the way for recreational use and further drug abuse.
Morgan said medical marijuana helps his brother, Tim, a quadriplegic who would otherwise take eight Percocets a day to relieve severe spasms. He saw how it eased the pain for his father, who died 25 years ago this week from cancer and emphysema.
"I know it works, and I know if it became legal in Florida, it would help tens of thousands of people," Morgan said. "Why would we deny someone who is terminally ill the most compassion and the most mercy at the end of their lives?"
Anecdotal evidence and a growing body of studies show medical benefits from marijuana as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory drug that is less addictive and has fewer side effects than other pain medications already available by prescription.
However, opponents of legalization question the medical benefits of marijuana. The Florida Medical Association is opposed to medical marijuana and advises doctors to refrain from prescribing it unless its use is approved in the future by the Food and Drug Administration.
The Florida Police Chiefs Association also remains opposed to legalization. Such a change could open opportunities for abuse, addiction and crimes related to marijuana use, the association contends.
"As a career law-enforcement officer, I do not want to have to deal with the effects that impaired individuals cause to other people," said Philip Thorne, chief of police in the Panhandle town of Springfield and president of the police-chiefs organization. "It creates all kind of issues associated with marijuana in general.
"Everybody and their brother would abuse the system to get marijuana."
Florida proponents want to set up a tightly controlled system to regulate the use of medical marijuana, hoping not to repeat problems with California's law, which is more lax.
The Florida referendum would require special ID cards for patients who receive physician's prescriptions to buy the drug through state-licensed treatment centers. The proposal would not allow people to grow their own.
"They don't want California, where with a wink and a nod, a witch doctor could give out a prescription," Morgan said. "People are OK with it, but they want it highly regulated."
One of the biggest arguments against marijuana legalization is its potential as a "gateway" drug, in which marijuana users progress to more addictive illegal drugs, such as heroin or cocaine.
But Morgan strongly disputes that characterization.
"For people with cancer, the nausea is debilitating, and the pills they give you don't work. But marijuana works," he said. "The only gateway drug for these people is the morphine they will receive at hospice."
Mary Anne Meskis, executive director of the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, said the concern about medical marijuana as a gateway drug also doesn't apply to patients such as Michael Budzynski who suffer from extreme seizures.
"Our kids will never lead a normal life," Meskis said. "They will never be out and about trying recreational drugs."
In fact, the successful uses of medical marijuana among Dravet syndrome patients involve a distilled form, administered as a liquid and made from a strain of marijuana low in THC, the psychoactive chemical that causes the marijuana high.
That's the strain being used by Charlotte Figi, a 6-year-old Colorado girl whose story was featured on CNN and helped to turn the network's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, into a medical-marijuana convert.
Marilyn Budzynski has been in touch with the Figi family and has been moved by the girl's dramatic improvements. With the marijuana treatment, Charlotte doesn't have violent seizures and is a playful, active child.
That's how Budzynski remembers Michael, when he was 4 years old and still swimming and climbing and enjoying amusement-park rides. He loved reading his favorite books aloud. He used to run with abandon in their yard, laughing and playing with his siblings.
Michael suffered his first seizure when he was 6 months old, suddenly twitching on an August night for no apparent reason. He continued to grow, but the seizures didn't stop, despite different drugs, diets and therapies.
By age 4, the seizures took their toll, and he started regressing. He started losing the dozens of words he could speak. One day, Michael blanked out when he was supposed to say his prayers. He stopped walking at age 9 and has had a lifetime of emergency-room trips and complications.
He still has seizures about three times a week, daily migraines and frequent vomiting, likely an effect of harsh medications. He has lost 20 pounds in the last year and now weighs 78 pounds. He rarely speaks and can't care for himself. Although he has lived longer than most Dravet patients, there is no hope for a cure.
His mother wishes she could see her son make the progress that Charlotte Figi has made.
"Our kids have such severe conditions, they have a lot more to gain," she said. "This is not about giving our kids a drug to smoke. It's about giving them quality of life."
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...marijuana-marijuana-use-florida-supreme-court
