cannabisnews.com: Medicinal Pot Advocate 'in a Much Better Place' Medicinal Pot Advocate 'in a Much Better Place' Posted by CN Staff on April 01, 2003 at 09:20:24 PT By Michael Coit, Staff Writer Source: Press Democrat A good morning for Sylvia Price is getting out of bed, bathing and making a cup of tea inside her trailer on the lakeshore. She also puffs marijuana from a glass pipe.Marijuana helps ease pain from a variety of disabling ailments. Price turned to pot after an array of drug treatments that often left her anxious and bedridden, and caused seizures. What sets her apart from others who claim medical benefits from marijuana is that she taps her state and federal disability benefits to pay for it.And she does so with the approval of Lake County social service officials who administer a state caregiver program that helps elderly and disabled people stay in their homes."I'm a poster child and a guinea pig," she said. "Someone else is going to want this. I feel an incredible moral obligation to stand up for people and say medical marijuana works."Price, 55, is allowed to deduct the cost of marijuana from her state workers' compensation and federal disability income. As a result, her income is low enough that she doesn't have to pay part of her caregiver costs.Lake County Social Services Director Carol Hutchinson refused to discuss the matter. She cited a law barring any comment on specific cases, even after Price waived her right to confidentiality.California Department of Social Services officials weren't aware of any similar case among the 260,000 people in the state served by the caregiver program, which is known as In Home Support Services."This is the first we have become aware of this," department spokesman Andrew Roth said, adding that state officials are reviewing whether it's legal to deduct costs for pot.A potential alternative to pot is Marinol, a pill containing a synthetic form of THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.Medi-Cal, one of Price's government health care programs, allows doctors to prescribe the pill. Price's doctor did not, however, given the side effects she suffered from other medications. Instead, he wrote her a recommendation to acquire marijuana for medicinal use."There is a group of chronic diseased patients who are going to respond to this, particularly for illnesses that don't have easy treatments," said Dr. Craig McMillan, who was Price's physician before his recent appointment as Lake County health officer.Having cared for many patients who are disabled, older and on fixed incomes, McMillan said there are others who might be helped if allowed to pay for marijuana with government benefits. He noted that Marinol is far more expensive."Our patients are at a real disadvantage up here," McMillan said. "We're in a rural area. We don't have a lot of specialists to refer you to. We don't have a lot of pain management consultants in this area."First diagnosed with lupus 25 years ago, Price also suffers from osteoporosis, epileptic seizures and a condition known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. The chronic pain syndrome is linked to her work as a massage therapist.Price has been disabled since injuring her right hand at a Calistoga spa in 1992. She began smoking marijuana in 1996 and entered the caregiver program a year later.On a fixed income, Price appreciates the help she is getting to live on her own under the care of her longtime companion, Terry Robl."The county and my doctor have been a godsend," Price said. "I'm in a much better place now."A former Navy ship's cook and country club chef, Robl met Price seven years ago. He keeps house, cooks and helps her through periodic seizures and bouts with pain."Somebody's got to watch the gal or else she will bug out," Robl said.The refurbished trailer Price and Robl call home is at the end of a dusty drive in Clearlake. It has proved to be a comfortable place for her to reclaim a daily regimen.In the morning, she can watch and listen to birds at a feeder Robl built just beyond a small side yard where roses climb along a lakeside wall.At sunset, Price might feel the energy and inspiration to take photographs of Mount Konocti and its wooded slopes looming above the lake's shore.One day recently, she sipped tea and munched an energy bar as jazz played on a satellite TV service."I have an insatiable desire to live and let me smoke my weed, thank you very much," she said after taking a puff from her glass pipe.Price smokes the pipe periodically throughout the day. She goes through two grams of marijuana, enough to fill a small tin box.Smoking marijuana to battle pain has been quite a change for the mom who raised three children in Hayward and then worked as a legal and bank secretary in San Francisco for more than a decade.She moved to Harbin Hot Springs in the Middletown area in the mid-1980s, where she trained and worked as a massage therapist."I loved being a massage therapist, and then all of a sudden my life turned around," she said.The injury she suffered at a Calistoga spa in 1992 cost her the use of her right hand and arm.Doctors prescribed Vicodin and opiate patches, and she even took shots to her spine to treat the pain. Her hand and arm still hurt, however, and she suffered blackouts, memory loss and seizures."I was in a lot of pain and just terrified," she said.California voters approved the state's medical marijuana initiative in 1996.When Robl and Price met the same year, he suggested she try smoking marijuana to treat the pain. He made purchases from pot clubs in Oakland and San Francisco, and then became a regular Ukiah Cannabis Club customer.Using receipts from the Ukiah club, Robl asked Lake County social services officials in August 2000 to consider the money Price paid for marijuana.A month later, the county began crediting her for the cost, about $430 a month, so she wouldn't have to pay a similar amount toward her $1,300-a-month caregiver benefits.Last fall, the county reconsidered its decision to credit Price for the cost of marijuana. A hearing was set before an administrative law judge, but then the county dropped the matter without giving Price an explanation."They've got to prove to us that we're doing something wrong," she said. "I can sit peacefully on the side of a lake and regain my health. I'm not afraid of anything."Note: Disabled Lake County woman taps benefits to pay for drug.Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)Author: Michael Coit, Staff WriterPubdate: April 01, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Press DemocratContact: letters pressdemo.comWebsite: http://www.pressdemo.com/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment