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Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana
Patient with Inoperable Liver
Cancer
November 17, 2011 - AmericansForSafeAccess.org
Sixty-three year-old medical marijuana patient Norman B. Smith was
diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer in 2009 and sought treatment
from the internationally lauded Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles. Smith's oncologist at Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Steven Miles, approved
of his medical marijuana use as a means to deal with the effects of
chemotherapy and pain from an unrelated back surgery. In September
2010, Smith became eligible for a liver transplant, but after testing
positive for marijuana in February he was removed from the transplant
list. Smith's cancer was in remission until just recently, but now he
is scheduled to undergo radiation treatments in the next few days.
Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) issued
a letter today urging the Cedars-Sinai Transplant Department to
promptly re-list Smith for a liver transplant. The letter also urges
Cedars-Sinai to change its transplant eligibility policy. "Denying
necessary transplants to medical marijuana patients is the worst kind
of discrimination," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who also
authored the letter to Cedars-Sinai. "Cedars-Sinai would not be
breaking any laws, federal or otherwise, by granting Norman Smith a
liver transplant, and it's certainly the ethical thing to do."
Smith is not the only medical marijuana patient in the U.S. being
denied a transplant. At least one other Cedars-Sinai patient reported
to ASA in 2008 that they had been kicked off the transplant list
because of their legal medical marijuana use. Over the past four years,
ASA has received numerous reports of patients being purged from
transplant lists across California, as well as in other medical
marijuana states like Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. In 2008, Seattle
resident and medical marijuana patient Timothy Garon died after being
denied a liver transplant by the University of Washington Medical
Center. A year later, in 2009, Big Island resident and medical
marijuana patient Kimberly Reyes died at Hilo Hospital after being
denied a liver transplant.
Cedars-Sinai is demanding that Smith not only abstain from marijuana
use for at least six months, forcing him to undergo random toxicology
tests, but he is also required to participate in weekly substance abuse
counseling over the same period. Although Smith was within two months
of receiving a transplant before he was de-listed, he will be put at
the bottom of the list even after satisfying the policy requirements.
"ASA seeks to change this harmful and uncompassionate policy not only
for Smith's benefit, but also for the benefit of numerous other medical
marijuana patients who are being made to suffer unnecessarily as a
result of political ideology," said Elford.
Between January 2010 and October 2011, Smith took part in a rare
clinical trial to combat his liver cancer. The trial, which included
only 60 people worldwide, involved weekly infusions and daily pills.
Smith also smoked medical marijuana during this time, but stopped in
August 2011 to try to adhere to the transplant eligibility
requirements. Smith was the only patient in the entire 93-week trial
who had a successful remission, earning him the moniker of "Miracle
Man." Because of the cancer's return, Smith may not have six months to
live. However, instead of re-listing him for a transplant, Cedars-Sinai
is scheduling him for radiation treatment. "Norman Smith's life hangs
in the balance between his desperate need for a liver and an
anti-marijuana sentiment that informs a misguided and life-threatening
transplant policy," continued Elford.
Smith not only has the support of his oncologist and other Cedars-Sinai
staff, but also his psychologist, who wrote a strong letter of
recommendation that Smith be approved for a liver transplant.
Nonetheless, Dr. Steven D. Colquhoun, the director of Cedars-Sinai's
Liver Transplant Program compared Smith's legal medical marijuana use
to "substance abuse." In a letter sent to Smith in May, Dr. Colquhoun
indicated that the liver transplant center "must consider issues of
substance abuse seriously since it does often play a role in the
evolution of diseases that may require transplantation, and may
adversely impact a new organ after a transplant." Despite Dr.
Colquhoun's assertions and Cedars-Sinai's restrictive policy, an
independent study has shown that marijuana use has no adverse impact on
the survival rate of transplant recipients.
> Nonetheless, Dr. Steven D. Colquhoun, the director of Cedars-Sinai's Liver Transplant Program compared Smith's legal medical marijuana use to "substance abuse."
So if she was on a morphine drip to manage the pain, it would be fine. What a double standard.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
It would be interesting to see if they would deny him for marinol as well. I do see where the doctor is coming from. Major surgery, major risk of death. If I were a surgeon and didn't feel comfortable operating on some one who uses pot even for medical reasons I would stand fast and wait till all of the chemicals in pot were out of his system 100%. I am sure he could find a doc that would get him on the table with a liver to put in him but then must not want to sacrifice top notch medical care for pot...
quote]Seuss said: > Nonetheless, Dr. Steven D. Colquhoun, the director of Cedars-Sinai's Liver Transplant Program compared Smith's legal medical marijuana use to "substance abuse."
So if she was on a morphine drip to manage the pain, it would be fine. What a double standard.
The medical laws in Cali are a joke... and are allowing people to use pot "medically" to the extent that it may be causing a substance abuse problem.
-------------------- My past post are not necessarily reflections of my current opinions.
Registered: 09/12/07 Posts: 308 Last seen: 8 months, 22 days
Re: [CA] Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana Patient with Inoperable Liver Cancer [Re: WorldWideWInton] #15387357 - 11/18/11 08:51 AM (1 year, 6 months ago)
I fail to see how it differs from the countless other drugs that are in this persons system. If he was taking a lot of pain killers instead of pot, would he be allowed to have a transplant?
Registered: 03/10/07 Posts: 31,943 Last seen: 1 day, 7 hours
Re: [CA] Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana Patient with Inoperable Liver Cancer [Re: WorldWideWInton] #15387458 - 11/18/11 09:53 AM (1 year, 6 months ago)
Registered: 05/26/09 Posts: 780 Last seen: 2 days, 7 hours
Re: [CA] Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana Patient with Inoperable Liver Cancer [Re: Alan Rockefeller] #15387475 - 11/18/11 10:05 AM (1 year, 6 months ago)
Registered: 10/18/11 Posts: 1,793 Last seen: 1 day, 1 hour
Re: [CA] Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana Patient with Inoperable Liver Cancer [Re: Alan Rockefeller] #15387613 - 11/18/11 11:02 AM (1 year, 6 months ago)
Aren't most (or at least a lot of) liver failures caused by chronic alcohol abuse? I by no means want to imply anything about Mr. Smith, but it seems very silly to have a policy that denies people medical help for problems related to one addiction simply for having another "addiction" that cannot contribute to the illness.
Registered: 10/18/11 Posts: 1,793 Last seen: 1 day, 1 hour
Re: [CA] Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana Patient with Inoperable Liver Cancer [Re: sonamdrukpa] #15387618 - 11/18/11 11:03 AM (1 year, 6 months ago)
Registered: 03/10/07 Posts: 31,943 Last seen: 1 day, 7 hours
Re: [CA] Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana Patient with Inoperable Liver Cancer [Re: sonamdrukpa] #15387645 - 11/18/11 11:11 AM (1 year, 6 months ago)
Registered: 08/13/11 Posts: 1,287 Loc: terra nova
Last seen: 8 months, 16 days
Re: [CA] Transplant Denied to Medical Marijuana Patient with Inoperable Liver Cancer [Re: Alan Rockefeller] #15388328 - 11/18/11 01:41 PM (1 year, 6 months ago)
same story as this guy almost, the system is really terrible, and the people who keep allowing shit like this to continue and alot of other healthcare type of situations with how they choose who gets what and how expensive it is need to get knockd the fuck out.
even a companys healthcare try to fuck you over as soon as a pricey bill comes up.
end the war, come home, save the country money, have a free market to allow competition and medical advances. never let the government get involved theyre not your friend.
the guy who was denied a spot on the xplant list is also 68 years old....which i'll bet had a huge impact on whether or not he'd get a liver. a 68 year old man (med mj user or not) has already had a long (somewhat) life, and at that age would probably not live much longer anyway, xplant or not.
-------------------- Now he's Johnny Hammersticks hammerin' away like he's friggin' Tommy Noble
i have a crazy theory that the medical community/bigpharma WANTS people in this type of situation to die so they later point at mmj and say "oh jee it didnt do them any good, therefore it should remain illegal/sched 1" its the only reasoning i could come up with for this level of douchebaggery.
-------------------- Anything I post is a lie, including that...and that.
Ganja jon from norml ran into this but he thought ahead and got a script for marinol and so when he tested positive for thc he was good to go and got his trans plat. he did say that the doc after the surgery said he knew what he was up to the whole time. really sucks dick for this dude though damn those capitol hill cunts
Under no circumstances should someone his age be given an organ.
-------------------- “In politics, few talents are as richly rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims. Welfare states on both sides of the Atlantic have discovered that largesse to losers does not reduce their hostility to society, but only increases it. Far from producing gratitude, generosity is seen as an admission of guilt, and the reparations as inadequate compensation for injustices – leading to worsening behavior by the recipients. Thomas Sowell
If everyone with pain could use a plant they could potentially grow themselves, who's gonna buy all the opiates made from all those darn poppy plants that are being grown? The human suffering industry is big business, if medicine could grow on trees I'm thinking this industry would take a big hit!
If I were in his shoes, I'd just keep smoking marijuana. At the very least it would keep his pain and suffering to a minimum, and at best, it could very well keep his cancer from worsening or even improve symptoms. If the doctors ask, I would just deny deny deny, and say anything found was traces from the medical marijuana.
Anyways, I hope he gets a transplant. It's not right for him to be denied life for his choice to smoke marijuana, especially when he smoked marijuana to support his life. It crosses a very disgusting line, where those who say marijuana is not medicine are willing to let the innocent suffering lives of those ridden with disease, who find some relief in marijuana where none exists elsewhere, die over this belief.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that while denying any-body any-thing (well, maybe the opportunity to be responsible for small children / industrial machinery) over a vice as harmless as weed is wrong; cancer patients should probably be low on the list for transplants in the first place.
Reason being cancer tends to come back and kill you.
Hope I happen to not have that malfunction, terrible way to go out.
Quote: Seuss said: > Nonetheless, Dr. Steven D. Colquhoun, the director of Cedars-Sinai's Liver Transplant Program compared Smith's legal medical marijuana use to "substance abuse."
So if she was on a morphine drip to manage the pain, it would be fine. What a double standard.
By his logic I do heroin when I go to the hospital.
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