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Inside her small apartment, Darlene Wilson looked over her various Native American artifacts and paintings that hung on the walls.
The daughter of a Huron native, the 59-year-old Manchester woman extended one slender finger as her eyes settled on an old photograph on her refrigerator. She and her ex-husband stood together in front of a "big rig" truck they operated in a family business fleet years ago. That was before Wilson learned she had developed the crippling condition chronic pancreatitis, and one of the few likenesses she has around that shows her at her healthiest.
"My average weight should be around 115 or 118. I'm down, I go between 81, 82 pounds," she said. "Each year I lose a little more, five to 10 pounds more each year. And of course, with it comes all other problems."
Wilson says the only thing she believes will save her life is legal access to marijuana for medicinal purposes, to fight off the pain and help her work up an appetite.
"I've been fighting for this cause for almost 18 years. I firmly believe in it," she said. "I have seen the effects of it helping people. I'd like more than anything before I leave this world to see it legalized for medicinal uses. I'm not pushing for recreation."
Rep. Donna Schlachman, D-Exeter, said now that Gov. Maggie Hassan has signed the bill into law, it could take 18-24 months for the marijuana dispensaries to be set up with regulations and administrative rules handed down from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Those rules still have yet to be established.
Schlachman said there is no protection for a patient before these dispensaries are established. That's why she said she wanted the "grow your own" section included, but that has since been removed. Even after the governor signed the bill, some might still have to wait two years to get marijuana legally.
"You talk to these people, and you know that our policy with cannabis at the federal level is just not right," Schlachman said. "You don't have to hear so many personal stories to know there's something wrong with this picture that we're not allowing people to access this."
Wilson is a medical marijuana advocate with the group New Hampshire Compassion and she admits she uses marijuana occasionally now, because she said it helps her manage her pain, which includes extreme nausea and vomiting.
"When I can get it," she said frankly. "But I can't exactly. I'm 59 years old. I can't exactly go out on the street, bothering young children for it."
Wilson says she has been living with pancreatitis for the last 12 years, with cysts cropping up from time to time, but she said she was an advocate for the benefits of marijuana long before that. In her experience, it's the only way she can work up an appetite enough to put on some weight. She also uses an intrathecal pump connected to her spine internally that's filled with morphine and helps her manage her excruciating pain, though it doesn't always do the job.
She noted when she does obtain marijuana, she's extremely worried about getting caught. She stresses there are people just like her all over the state — they're patients, not criminals, she says.
"None of us want to be arrested," Wilson said. "None of us want to get into trouble. We've been struggling."
Wilson hauled electronics for the government for 14 years through her trucking operation. During her travels across the country, she would experience white-out blizzard conditions in mountain ranges and meet different types of people.
She tapped into her Native American heritage by visiting reservations and started to collecting authentic artifacts from her culture, only a fraction of which are still scattered around her one bedroom space.
She pointed to Marinol, a synthetic cannabinoid drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which health care professionals say provides beneficial side effects similar to that of marijuana and its psychoactive THC ingredient. But Wilson said she hasn't found that to be very helpful.
"The people are dying and we desperately need it for many, many things...," she said. "We're not pushing for recreational smokers, for a lot of people to be sitting around listening to Pink Floyd and smoking a joint. For old people, it's not like that at all."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: sentinelsource.com
Author: Samantha Allen
Contact: webmaster@keenesentinel.com
Website: Manchester woman describes why she considers medical marijuana so important - SentinelSource.com: State Regional
The daughter of a Huron native, the 59-year-old Manchester woman extended one slender finger as her eyes settled on an old photograph on her refrigerator. She and her ex-husband stood together in front of a "big rig" truck they operated in a family business fleet years ago. That was before Wilson learned she had developed the crippling condition chronic pancreatitis, and one of the few likenesses she has around that shows her at her healthiest.
"My average weight should be around 115 or 118. I'm down, I go between 81, 82 pounds," she said. "Each year I lose a little more, five to 10 pounds more each year. And of course, with it comes all other problems."
Wilson says the only thing she believes will save her life is legal access to marijuana for medicinal purposes, to fight off the pain and help her work up an appetite.
"I've been fighting for this cause for almost 18 years. I firmly believe in it," she said. "I have seen the effects of it helping people. I'd like more than anything before I leave this world to see it legalized for medicinal uses. I'm not pushing for recreation."
Rep. Donna Schlachman, D-Exeter, said now that Gov. Maggie Hassan has signed the bill into law, it could take 18-24 months for the marijuana dispensaries to be set up with regulations and administrative rules handed down from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Those rules still have yet to be established.
Schlachman said there is no protection for a patient before these dispensaries are established. That's why she said she wanted the "grow your own" section included, but that has since been removed. Even after the governor signed the bill, some might still have to wait two years to get marijuana legally.
"You talk to these people, and you know that our policy with cannabis at the federal level is just not right," Schlachman said. "You don't have to hear so many personal stories to know there's something wrong with this picture that we're not allowing people to access this."
Wilson is a medical marijuana advocate with the group New Hampshire Compassion and she admits she uses marijuana occasionally now, because she said it helps her manage her pain, which includes extreme nausea and vomiting.
"When I can get it," she said frankly. "But I can't exactly. I'm 59 years old. I can't exactly go out on the street, bothering young children for it."
Wilson says she has been living with pancreatitis for the last 12 years, with cysts cropping up from time to time, but she said she was an advocate for the benefits of marijuana long before that. In her experience, it's the only way she can work up an appetite enough to put on some weight. She also uses an intrathecal pump connected to her spine internally that's filled with morphine and helps her manage her excruciating pain, though it doesn't always do the job.
She noted when she does obtain marijuana, she's extremely worried about getting caught. She stresses there are people just like her all over the state — they're patients, not criminals, she says.
"None of us want to be arrested," Wilson said. "None of us want to get into trouble. We've been struggling."
Wilson hauled electronics for the government for 14 years through her trucking operation. During her travels across the country, she would experience white-out blizzard conditions in mountain ranges and meet different types of people.
She tapped into her Native American heritage by visiting reservations and started to collecting authentic artifacts from her culture, only a fraction of which are still scattered around her one bedroom space.
She pointed to Marinol, a synthetic cannabinoid drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which health care professionals say provides beneficial side effects similar to that of marijuana and its psychoactive THC ingredient. But Wilson said she hasn't found that to be very helpful.
"The people are dying and we desperately need it for many, many things...," she said. "We're not pushing for recreational smokers, for a lot of people to be sitting around listening to Pink Floyd and smoking a joint. For old people, it's not like that at all."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: sentinelsource.com
Author: Samantha Allen
Contact: webmaster@keenesentinel.com
Website: Manchester woman describes why she considers medical marijuana so important - SentinelSource.com: State Regional
