cannabisnews.com: Marijuana 'Keeps Me Alive'





Marijuana 'Keeps Me Alive'
Posted by FoM on June 11, 1999 at 17:11:44 PT
AIDS victim cheers drug exemption!
Source: Ottawa Citizen
Jean-Charles Pariseau says he feels as if he has been "given a new life" after Health Minister Allan Rock announced the Vanier man, who has AIDS, would be allowed to use medi-cinal marijuana.
"I got the call and just said, 'Yes,' " Mr. Pariseau said yesterday. "It's really like having a new life. I used to never know when the police would come in or if I would have some tomorrow. I was always worried because I need it." Police have arrested Mr. Pariseau twice over the past 21/2 years as he used marijuana -- prescribed by his doctor -- in a desperate battle to keep his weight up and to fight the nausea caused by his AIDS medication. Twice, his access to the drug was cut off when police arrested his supplier. Mr. Rock announced Wednesday that Mr. Pariseau and another AIDS patient, Jim Wakeford of Toronto, have been granted exemptions from federal drug laws. Mr. Rock's announcement comes in the midst of a long debate in the medical and justice communities over the need to relax the rules on the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Mr. Pariseau will be permitted to grow his own marijuana until the Health Department can find a Canadian supplier to provide a medical-grade source. Once this is done, Mr. Pariseau will likely become part of a clinical study to determine the benefits and drawbacks of using the drug, which is not approved for medical use in Canada. Doctors for 30 other people have also applied for exemptions from the drug law. Mr. Pariseau and his doctor, who has been lobbying the government for a relaxation of the law for years, say marijuana has been a life-saver for Mr. Pariseau. Mr. Pariseau found out he had AIDS in 1996, when he went to the hospital to have a cyst removed from his back. He had been losing weight fast before going to hospital and when he was released that year, he weighed 82 pounds. "They sent him home with a death sentence," Dr. Kilby said. "They told him to get his affairs in order. The pills he was taking were making him vomit. He just couldn't keep what was keeping him alive down." Before trying marijuana, Mr. Pariseau said he "couldn't even stand the smell of food. It made me sick. But when I started smoking, I got my appetite back. "It gives you the munchies. You just want to eat." Mr. Pariseau has been using marijuana daily for 21/2 years; he gained 39 pounds in that time. But the marijuana law meant serious setbacks. Every time he or his supplier was arrested, Mr. Pariseau lost weight and his condition deteriorated. Once, his weight dipped below the 100-pound mark and his doctors said he was likely to die. That is when Dr. Kilby issued his prescription and Mr. Pariseau found a new supply. "It gives us a chance to treat him," the doctor said. "Without it, we wouldn't be able to." He hopes the Health Department expands the tests to include people suffering diseases other than AIDS. "Marijuana could benefit people suffering from many degenerative sicknesses," Dr. Kilby said. For Mr. Pariseau, it's a much simpler equation. "This is the stuff that keeps me alive," he said. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/city/990611/2710998.html
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: