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A respected and committed advocate for medical marijuana rights died in a Halifax hospital Saturday.
John Cook, 48, of Harrietsfield co-founded Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana (MUMM) and directed the Halifax chapter of the Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada.
He had to close the buyers club after a heart attack in the spring of 2012. The married, father of two daughters suffered more heart trouble in the weeks before his death.
Years ago, the former Canadian Forces member fell from a ladder at home and then strained his back muscles more when he returned to work. He started smoking four to 10 grams of marijuana a day to combat the pain.
Cook used to say he rarely got high from using marijuana, but without it, he’d have had to rely on Demerol, morphine or other strong pain-killing pharmaceuticals that made him too drowsy to function.
He became an outspoken and confident advocate for the medical use of marijuana. About 11 years ago, Cook publicly announced the opening of his buyers club on the steps of Halifax city hall.
Bridgetown’s Debbie Stultz-Giffin, who prefers using marijuana over pharmaceuticals to treat her multiple sclerosis, contacted Cook after that. They met at a Cannabis Day event in the Dartmouth Common. Later, they co-created MUMM, which still has Stultz-Giffin as chairwoman.
“I just feel overwhelmingly sad,” she said Wednesday.
Cook, who checked with clients’ doctors before supplying them with marijuana, helped many people in need and was selfless, Stultz-Giffin said.
“He wasn’t concerned about making a profit and his primary concern was the well-being of all the patients.”
Cook had great confidence he could withstand legal challenges and it rubbed off on others, Stultz-Giffin said.
“A lot of people looked to him for his extensive knowledge and confidence in how to approach the legal system and the law when they were facing cannabis-related charges due to their medical needs.”
Michael MacDonald never got the chance to meet him, but said Cook helped him immensely.
The Pictou County man has multiple herniated disks in his back and suffers from chronic neuropathic pain, sciatica and migraine headaches that can last longer than a month. He also dislikes pharmaceuticals, which can make him vomit or worse.
“I’ve had such bad, blasting headaches from these medications I’d be in my shower with the cold water on the back of my head crying because of the side-effects.”
MacDonald believed regular access to marijuana could help him and he asked his doctor. He was told to visit a Halifax pain clinic to get a referral for a specialist who could arrange for Health Canada permission to grow and use marijuana.
He started down that path, but got fed up with the red tape and eventually started growing weed on his front yard.
“I wanted to be well and I didn’t care what the law said.”
About six weeks before he got the Health Canada card, MacDonald was arrested and charged with production, trafficking and possession. The police seized his grow equipment, money and a hunting rifle.
Through MUMM, MacDonald then heard of Cook and decided to get in touch with him. Cook said the government had no right to stand in the way of his well-being and offered to help him.
It was a revelation for MacDonald, who started preparing to go to court and fight the case with Cook, who never took any money for his work. The pair were finally going to meet at court for a preliminary inquiry, but Cook suffered his first heart attack and the case was delayed.
“The impact he had, it’s almost indescribable,” MacDonald said. “Leading me into this, John was building me up that I could do this.”
He eventually handled his own defence and the case worked its way to Nova Scotia Supreme Court, where MacDonald was given a conditional discharge. He got his money, growing equipment and hunting rifle back.
“The Supreme Court Judge agreed after hearing my story,” he said. “I had to do what I had to do to be well. He agreed with that.”
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: thechronicleherald.ca
Author: Dan Arsenault
Contact: Contact Us | The Chronicle Herald
Website: Crusader for medical pot dies | The Chronicle Herald
John Cook, 48, of Harrietsfield co-founded Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana (MUMM) and directed the Halifax chapter of the Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada.
He had to close the buyers club after a heart attack in the spring of 2012. The married, father of two daughters suffered more heart trouble in the weeks before his death.
Years ago, the former Canadian Forces member fell from a ladder at home and then strained his back muscles more when he returned to work. He started smoking four to 10 grams of marijuana a day to combat the pain.
Cook used to say he rarely got high from using marijuana, but without it, he’d have had to rely on Demerol, morphine or other strong pain-killing pharmaceuticals that made him too drowsy to function.
He became an outspoken and confident advocate for the medical use of marijuana. About 11 years ago, Cook publicly announced the opening of his buyers club on the steps of Halifax city hall.
Bridgetown’s Debbie Stultz-Giffin, who prefers using marijuana over pharmaceuticals to treat her multiple sclerosis, contacted Cook after that. They met at a Cannabis Day event in the Dartmouth Common. Later, they co-created MUMM, which still has Stultz-Giffin as chairwoman.
“I just feel overwhelmingly sad,” she said Wednesday.
Cook, who checked with clients’ doctors before supplying them with marijuana, helped many people in need and was selfless, Stultz-Giffin said.
“He wasn’t concerned about making a profit and his primary concern was the well-being of all the patients.”
Cook had great confidence he could withstand legal challenges and it rubbed off on others, Stultz-Giffin said.
“A lot of people looked to him for his extensive knowledge and confidence in how to approach the legal system and the law when they were facing cannabis-related charges due to their medical needs.”
Michael MacDonald never got the chance to meet him, but said Cook helped him immensely.
The Pictou County man has multiple herniated disks in his back and suffers from chronic neuropathic pain, sciatica and migraine headaches that can last longer than a month. He also dislikes pharmaceuticals, which can make him vomit or worse.
“I’ve had such bad, blasting headaches from these medications I’d be in my shower with the cold water on the back of my head crying because of the side-effects.”
MacDonald believed regular access to marijuana could help him and he asked his doctor. He was told to visit a Halifax pain clinic to get a referral for a specialist who could arrange for Health Canada permission to grow and use marijuana.
He started down that path, but got fed up with the red tape and eventually started growing weed on his front yard.
“I wanted to be well and I didn’t care what the law said.”
About six weeks before he got the Health Canada card, MacDonald was arrested and charged with production, trafficking and possession. The police seized his grow equipment, money and a hunting rifle.
Through MUMM, MacDonald then heard of Cook and decided to get in touch with him. Cook said the government had no right to stand in the way of his well-being and offered to help him.
It was a revelation for MacDonald, who started preparing to go to court and fight the case with Cook, who never took any money for his work. The pair were finally going to meet at court for a preliminary inquiry, but Cook suffered his first heart attack and the case was delayed.
“The impact he had, it’s almost indescribable,” MacDonald said. “Leading me into this, John was building me up that I could do this.”
He eventually handled his own defence and the case worked its way to Nova Scotia Supreme Court, where MacDonald was given a conditional discharge. He got his money, growing equipment and hunting rifle back.
“The Supreme Court Judge agreed after hearing my story,” he said. “I had to do what I had to do to be well. He agreed with that.”
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: thechronicleherald.ca
Author: Dan Arsenault
Contact: Contact Us | The Chronicle Herald
Website: Crusader for medical pot dies | The Chronicle Herald
