Mar 17, 2009
drug war, legislation, Medical Marijuana
When medical use of marijuana is illegal, it's not just the patients themselves who get hurt. Today's Chicago Tribune reports the story of police dispatcher Laura Llanes, whose aunt is battling breast cancer and suffering the side effects of chemotherapy.
Llanes told the paper that her aunt was "sick constantly, not eating, not having an appetite. She is diabetic. She has to eat. She was whittling away to nothing." So she obtained three joints worth of marijuana for her aunt, and it helped.
But when Llanes told a co-worker about it, word got to her supervisors, and now she's out of a job -- collateral damage in America's ongoing war on the sick.
On the bright side, medical marijuana legislation is under consideration in Illinois. To find out how you can help -- and especially if you live in Illinois -- please visit our Illinois page.