Pubdate: Sat, 22 Aug 2015
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2015 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Maureen Bake

CALL FOR CANNABIS

I'm an Illinois nurse suffering from chronic pain, recently diagnosed 
with fibromyalgia. As a clinician and now patient, I'm urging Gov. 
Bruce Rauner to advance the medical cannabis program so patients have 
access to a natural and effective medicine that has been living in 
the shadows of less effective, highly addictive and sometimes deadly 
prescription drugs for far too long.

I am a breast cancer survivor. One of the side effects of the 
medication I was taking was joint pain. It affected my daily life and 
my ability to work. I couldn't sleep and was constantly nauseous 
because the discomfort was so extreme. For me, cannabis was not a 
first line of defense. I was forced to illegally treat myself with 
cannabis out of pure desperation when all other treatments failed - 
and it worked. In fact, it was the only remedy that helped me resume 
my daily activities and has given me hope for returning to a normal life.

Cannabis is not for everyone, but it should be an accessible and 
viable treatment option. If a patient has high blood pressure, he or 
she is given medication to manage it. An infection is easily treated 
with antibiotic.

For patients with chronic conditions, those paralyzed with 
discomfort, nausea and pain, cannabis works. It's time the stigma 
associated with cannabis is removed and Rauner show compassion for 
suffering patients by approving the 11 debilitating conditions 
recommended by the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board.

Time is not on our side; there needs to be a sense of urgency.

- - Maureen Bake, registered nurse, American Cannabis Nurses Association
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom