Mum wants cannabis for dying son

[boulder]

FELICITY Marco wants to give cannabis to her dying son in a final effort to ease his pain. He's just four years old.

 

dyingson

Trying times . . . Felicity Marco wants the drug trial for pain relief to include terminally ill children like her son, Alex, 4. Picture: THE MAITLAND MERCURY

Premier Bob Carr wants his proposed four-year cannabis trial restricted to patients suffering wasting because of cancer and HIV, nausea from chemotherapy, severe or chronic pain, muscle spasticity due to multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries.

 

They must be 18 and over, but Mrs Marco's dilemma has added another controversial dimension to the emotive debate of legalising cannabis for the chronically ill.

 

Mrs Marco's son Alex has a rare form of leukodystrophy ? a degenerative condition of the central nervous system ? and has been given four to six years to live.

 

His mother yesterday backed the drug trial but urged the State Government to make cannabis available to terminally ill children.

 

"It's meant to be a slow, painful, excruciating death. We'll look at anything to try and make his life better," the Maitland mother told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

 

"It shouldn't make a difference if you're three or 30. If you're dying, you're dying. If you're terminal, you don't need to worry about the long-term side effects.

 

"Alex's organs will break down and he'll probably spend the last few years of his life on morphine. I really don't want that, so if marijuana is an option and it works in some other way than smoking it, then I'll do it".

 

Alex has gone blind, has to be fed through a tube, has no functioning bowel, only knows four words and cannot sit or stand.

 

The Hunter Valley family has found alternative therapy, including remedial massage, herbal medication and even putting water on magnets to "magnify" its properties, eased his suffering.

 

Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps yesterday backed the trial but said a national policy for cannabis use to relieve symptoms in certain patients should be implemented.

 

"There is a subset of patients for whom the only effective treatment is cannabis," she said.

 

"As long as doctors and patients know what those side effects are . . . this is not a valid argument against the trial."

 

But Drug Advisory Council of Australia executive officer David Perrin said unlike morphine, there had been no rigorous testing of cannabis for pain relief.

 

"Why would a doctor give cannabis to a patient with a serious illness when the THC in cannabis causes the suppression of the human immune system?" he said.

 

For Andrew, 23, a puff at age 17 led to him losing control.

 

Andrew, who did not want his surname revealed, was diagnosed with drug-induced schizophrenia three years ago.

 

"It was like the whole world and a thousand eyes were watching everything I did," he said.

 

The Chatswood man warned the government to "tread cautiously".

 

"I didn't know what kind of effect it would have on me. I got hooked on it straight away and kept smoking more and more of it," he said.

 

"If I knew then what it would do to me, I'd never have smoked it."

 

Prime Minister John Howard yesterday reiterated his support as long as the drug was prescribed.

 

He would not support patients growing marijuana and remained opposed to decriminalisation.

 

"If it's spray, or a tablet of some description, I would in principle see merit in it for cases where there are no other conventional medicines available to reduce pain and to provide greater comfort," he said.

 

The Daily Telegraph

[Buster]

Its very sad for that young boy, but now MJ is coming out of the dark I hope there'll be more time and money put into researching ways in which it will be possible for a wider use of Med users like him.

 

I can't believe that guy got schizophrenia from smoking MJ, he more than likely had it there anyway and it was brought to the surface by some primo sativa hehe.

 

 

Buster.

[Guest GrowMad]

I really feel for the poor kid and hope that his mother can ease his sufference some... One thing I don't understand about John Howards comments is that he is opposed to the decrimilisation of MJ, but isn't MJ decrimilised in Canberra??? If this is the case isn't John Howard being a bit hipocritical? I may be wrong here please correct me if I am...

[pipeman]

to be honest I can't see why mj would be needed for a kid like that unless they have determined that there is some problem with using prescribed pain killers, which in this case they didn't say.

[sols]

g'day; Howard is way out of line....

"If it's spray, or a tablet of some description, I would in principle see merit in it for cases where there are no other conventional medicines available to reduce pain and to provide greater comfort," he said.

he is deliberately telling kids in that statement, that taking a pill or tablet is ok, is he endorsing extasy tablets in that statement?

natural products are banned but chemical substitutes are ok? sounds like very strange logic to me.

 

 

 

John Howard has nothing to do with the laws of Canberra, decriminalising mj was done by the Canberra Government not the Federal government.

seems the polititions never mention Canberra mj policy when discussing mj.they only ever comment on South Australia, anyone have any idea why?

[pipeman]

John Howard has nothing to do with the laws of Canberra, decriminalising mj was done by the Canberra Government not the Federal government.

seems the polititions never mention Canberra mj policy when discussing mj.they only ever comment on South Australia, anyone have any idea why?

because they're fucking hypocritical, ignorant, immoral turds?

[Guest weekprik]

Anyone know where this lady lives?? hunter valley??

just thinking someone should set this lady with plants etc for her kid, so she can grow her own, if she is close to me I give her the choice of suppling her with plants or weed,

 

Lets stop saying oh how sad and instead say, Hey were in a position of being able to help!!

 

 

if anyone knows more let me know ok,

[pipeman]

Anyone know where this lady lives?? hunter valley??

just thinking someone should set this lady with plants etc for her kid, so she can grow her own, if she is close to me I give her the choice of suppling her with plants or weed,

 

Lets stop saying oh how sad and instead say, Hey were in a position of being able to help!!

 

 

if anyone knows more let me know ok,

mate if you contact the paper I'm sure they could arrange for you to get in touch with her.

[Guest weekprik]

what paper was it??

[Guest Urbanhog]

what paper was it??

read the bottom of boulder's post:

 

The Daily Telegraph

 

 

Urbanhog