cannabisnews.com: Todd McCormick in Prison for Perhaps Five Years





Todd McCormick in Prison for Perhaps Five Years
Posted by FoM on January 06, 2000 at 12:58:01 PT
By Peter McWilliams
Source: McWilliams.com
It is with the saddest of hearts that I inform you that Todd McCormick is in federal custody until at least February 28, 2000 and most likely until his appeal, approximately one year after that. If the appeal fails, the next possible release would be IF the Supreme Court heard the case and reverses the Appeals Court.
That would be two years later, or longer. The next date, providing he has been a model prisoner, is five years from this past MondayDue to Todd's physical condition (a gift of the government), prison conditions are torture. (For a thumbnail of Todd's story, please see below). In addition to the physical pain, the enormity of his confinement is weighing heavily on him. His personal Guardian Angel, Saint Tyfanie of Hempdom, says that in the past Todd lived day-to-day, knowing the next day might be the day he is released. Now he has struck an emotional brick wall. His attorney firmly advised Todd that he should expect to be in custody for at least the next 15 months. Please send letters of encouragement to him. He needs it now more than ever. Todd Patrick McCormick (The "Patrick" is very important.) 11071-112 Metropolitan Detention Center 535 N. Alameda Los Angeles, California 90012 Hospital floor You can also buy a copy of his book "How to Grow Medical Marijuana." I just gave him my almost-last $200 so he could buy shoes and a radio. All the money from the Amazon edition (except the cost of producing and printing the book) will go directly to Todd. After that, I will donate all my publishing rights of the book to the Todd McCormick Foundation (TMF). All proceeds for future printings will go to the Foundation. The money can be used for Todd's legal and personal expenses while he is in, and merged with Todd's A.H.E.M.P on his release. The book can be ordered here. The truly cool are buying holiday gifts now: http://www.amazon.com/Please circulate this far and wide. Let's get thousands of letters of support pouring into Todd. When I was in federal custody, I know how important each and every letter I got meant. I know Todd will, too. You can also send him subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. Sorry, Hef, they don't let Playboy in, and Larry, Hustler is forbidden, too. Don't try High Times, either. Magazines on politics, science, current affairs, ecology, and motorcycles are sure to please. Books, too, can be sent. One book at a time has the best chance of getting through. Thank you. Enjoy, Peter McWilliams peter mcwilliams.com Part of the Introduction to the book How to Grow Medical Marijuana: "Todd McCormick had cancer nine times before he was ten." That's the journalistic shorthand for what happened to Todd McCormick.The longhand truth is far worse. Starting at the age of two, McCormick had a series of tumors known as Histiocytosis X. Now science knows this to be a benign tumor of childhood that usually goes away on its own. When Todd McCormick was two, unfortunately, medical science treated Histiocytosis X as a malignant cancer requiring aggressive treatment. This included chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery-all of which were inflicted on young Todd nine times between the ages of two and ten. Thanks to improper medical treatment-not cancer-Todd has the top five vertebra of his spine surgically fused together and has one hip, frozen by radiation, the size of an eight year-old boy. A specialist who studied the adult Todd's X-rays but had never met Todd was shocked to find that Todd was not permanently confined to a wheelchair. For over a decade the medical profession, through a mistake-an honest mistake, a government-approved mistake, but a mistake nonetheless-made Todd unnecessarily and permanently disabled. In addition, the treatment more than likely has shortened his life. Now the government that sanctioned Todd's mutilation as "FDA-approved proper medical procedure" want to put him in jail for the rest of his life for attempting to treat his pain brought on by governmental incompetence. And, adding insult to injury, the government tells us it is doing all this to "protect the children." Where was the government when Todd was two and in need of some protection? As you can see, this whole story is a little long for the lead in most newspapers or as a television soundbite, so it became shortened to, "Todd McCormick had cancer nine times before he was ten." Todd and I met at the end of 1996 while I was researching a book on medical marijuana. AIDS and cancer in March 1996, and the nausea brought on by the treatment of same, convinced me of marijuana's medicinal effectiveness. If I lived, I told myself, I would not rest until medical marijuana was available to every sick person in America who needed it. I lived, but I'm a long way from my goal. But back to late 1996. Todd had just returned to California from a self-imposed exile in Amsterdam after the passage of Proposition 215. What a treasure trove of information is Todd McCormick! Self-medicating with Todd is a university education in Cannabis sativa. Not only was he clearly an expert grower, he was also working on determining which strains of marijuana worked best for specific medical conditions. Todd explained that medical marijuana is one of the most advanced and versatile plants in the entire Plant Kingdom. Marijuana has a male plant and a female plant-very rare in botany. Most plants have both sexes in the same plant. Because there are two sexes, medical marijuana can be bred, the offspring taking on the characteristics of both mama and papa. In more than 5,000 years of human medical use, this breeding has led to an almost uncountable (more than 30,000, at least) variations of the medical marijuana plant. Todd's goal was (and is) to identify which strains (variations) best treat which illnesses. For example, some medical marijuana is known for deep bodily relaxation. These strains are good for people with muscle spasms, chronic bodily tension, and pain. Other medical marijuana, however, produces the purely mental responses of alertness, clarity, and creativity. These strains might be best for nausea, depression, and pain. Yes, pain relief appears on both lists, as pain relief is one of the many medical benefits of marijuana that appear in just about every strain. Medical marijuana has the unique ability to filter out pain-either emotional or physical-while allowing pleasure and the sense of touch to pass through. This was scientifically confirmed in October 1997 by a report from the Society for Neuroscience. Please see the Medical Marijuana Magazine Online: http://www.marijuanamagazine.com/for more details on this report and other medical uses of marijuana. Todd had edited a magazine called HempLife in Holland. He had hoped to start a United States edition, but I persuaded him to write a book first. Related Articles & Web Sites:Todd McCormick's Grow Medicinehttp://growmedicine.com/ Welcome to A. H.E.M.P.http://www.ahemp.org/Compassionate Mom's Homepagehttp://members.home.net/amccormick/Medical Marijuana Proponent in Jail Pending Bail - 1/04/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4179.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #2 posted by Chris Campbell on January 06, 2000 at 19:29:45 PT:
The traitor.
There were people on here fighting tooth and nail for this rooster up until the last minute while he was enjoying 90 mph freeway chases. I think if he really was driving while under the influence while driving at reckless speeds he deserves whatever he gets.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by Dr. Ganj on January 06, 2000 at 14:41:20 PT
Live by the sword, die by the sword
I am not too sympathetic, nor very surprised.A person on 1/2 million dollar bond has to honor his agreement, not only for his sake, but also for the person posting the bond money. To look for trouble, is to find it.Remember this folks, it's great to believe in changing the laws, but until they *have* changed, be prepared to pay the price. Todd knew what the stakes were, and tripped over his several thousand 1 gallon containers.Dr. Ganj
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


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