{"id":2028,"date":"2011-12-06T18:17:33","date_gmt":"2011-12-06T18:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/?p=9126"},"modified":"2011-12-06T18:17:33","modified_gmt":"2011-12-06T18:17:33","slug":"cancer-patient-denied-transplant-due-to-medical-marijuana-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/cancer-patient-denied-transplant-due-to-medical-marijuana-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancer Patient denied transplant due to Medical Marijuana use"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/cancer-patient-denied-transplant-due-to-medical-marijuana-use\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"283\" height=\"178\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-sinai.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"cedar sinai\" title=\"cedar sinai\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-9127\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/cancer-patient-denied-transplant-due-to-medical-marijuana-use\/attachment\/cedar-sinai\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9127\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-sinai.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"283\" height=\"178\" \/><\/a>Cancer is a far reaching health issue that has probably had an impact on all of our lives at some point in time.\u00a0 According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cancer.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cancer.org<\/a>, there are over 11,000,000 people in the United States living with invasive cancer.\u00a0 The site also indicates that in 2010, there were approximately 569,490 deaths caused by cancer in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The issues presented in this article are not cut and dry and will certainly not be solved in the next few paragraphs.\u00a0 The focus will be on Norman Smith who finds himself in an unfortunate and unique situation.\u00a0 Smith is in desperate need for a liver transplant.\u00a0 He was on a waiting list for the procedure but was taken off by doctors because Smith is a medical marijuana user and did not show up for a drug test.\u00a0 To get back on the waiting list, Smith would have to cease his medical marijuana use for six months and submit to drug testing.\u00a0 Joe Elford, Smith\u2019s legal representative and an attorney for the well known group <a href=\"http:\/\/www.safeaccessnow.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Americans for Safe Access<\/a> stated that any additional delays could be the &#8220;difference between life and death.\u201d\u00a0 Smith described his situation by saying \u201c&#8221;I have inoperable cancer. If I don&#8217;t get a transplant, the candle&#8217;s lit and it&#8217;s a short fuse.&#8221;\u00a0 The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unos.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">United Network for Organ Sharing<\/a> has indicated that there are no standard procedures on medical marijuana use and organ transplants.\u00a0 In this case <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cedars-sinai.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cedars-Sinai Medical<\/a> is free to make whatever distinctions they see fit in determining this process.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a simple issue as our hearts certainly are with Mr. Smith and hopefully he can receive the organ transplant in enough time to save his life.\u00a0 Cedar-Sinai is not in an envious position.\u00a0 Making the decision is much more difficult than writing about it.\u00a0 A sad reality is that there usually are never enough organs available to match the demand.\u00a0 Cedar-Sinai is likely always faced with tough choices.\u00a0 Standing in line next to Norman Smith may be someone who followed every regulation and is also faced with a potentially fatal scenario.\u00a0 Mr. Smith did not follow their laws and with missing his drug test other harmful substances in his system cannot be ruled out.\u00a0 However, Mr. Smith also has complications with chemotherapy and he has found relief through marijuana use.\u00a0\u00a0 Additionally, if Cedar-Sinai considers Norman Smith to have a substance abuse problem with marijuana, then is it fair to say that this prevents him from receiving treatment?\u00a0 Often people think of substance abuse as out of the user\u2019s control, so to penalize someone for that could be considered harsh.<br \/> Finally, let us not forget that it is always possible that marijuana is an unfair target.\u00a0 Would a coffee drinker be denied a cardiac procedure if he or she were unable to kick a Dunkin Donuts habit?\u00a0 Of course many would say \u201cwell marijuana is not totally legal and caffeine is.\u201d\u00a0 This statement is not incorrect but that is more a matter of ink on legal documents.\u00a0 The comparison is still intriguing.\u00a0 One important fact to come out of this situation is that medical marijuana users may have to be conscious of the policies that their medical facility operates under.\u00a0 This is in no way to blame Mr. Smith as it likely has not occurred to many people to investigate this matter. \u00a0Hopefully, future breakthroughs in stem cells or organ cloning would eliminate the debate on this topic.\u00a0 In the meantime, Norman Smith, we wish you the best and hopefully any attention you garner can result in a speedy recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"283\" height=\"178\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-sinai.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"cedar sinai\" title=\"cedar sinai\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-9127\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/cancer-patient-denied-transplant-due-to-medical-marijuana-use\/attachment\/cedar-sinai\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9127\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/cedar-sinai.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"283\" height=\"178\" \/><\/a>Cancer is a far reaching health issue that has probably had an impact on all of our lives at some point in time.\u00a0 According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cancer.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cancer.org<\/a>, there are over 11,000,000 people in the United States living with invasive cancer.\u00a0 The site also indicates that in 2010, there were approximately 569,490 deaths caused by cancer in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The issues presented in this article are not cut and dry and will certainly not be solved in the next few paragraphs.\u00a0 The focus will be on Norman Smith who finds himself in an unfortunate and unique situation.\u00a0 Smith is in desperate need for a liver transplant.\u00a0 He was on a waiting list for the procedure but was taken off by doctors because Smith is a medical marijuana user and did not show up for a drug test.\u00a0 To get back on the waiting list, Smith would have to cease his medical marijuana use for six months and submit to drug testing.\u00a0 Joe Elford, Smith\u2019s legal representative and an attorney for the well known group <a href=\"http:\/\/www.safeaccessnow.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Americans for Safe Access<\/a> stated that any additional delays could be the &#8220;difference between life and death.\u201d\u00a0 Smith described his situation by saying \u201c&#8221;I have inoperable cancer. If I don&#8217;t get a transplant, the candle&#8217;s lit and it&#8217;s a short fuse.&#8221;\u00a0 The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unos.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">United Network for Organ Sharing<\/a> has indicated that there are no standard procedures on medical marijuana use and organ transplants.\u00a0 In this case <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cedars-sinai.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cedars-Sinai Medical<\/a> is free to make whatever distinctions they see fit in determining this process.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a simple issue as our hearts certainly are with Mr. Smith and hopefully he can receive the organ transplant in enough time to save his life.\u00a0 Cedar-Sinai is not in an envious position.\u00a0 Making the decision is much more difficult than writing about it.\u00a0 A sad reality is that there usually are never enough organs available to match the demand.\u00a0 Cedar-Sinai is likely always faced with tough choices.\u00a0 Standing in line next to Norman Smith may be someone who followed every regulation and is also faced with a potentially fatal scenario.\u00a0 Mr. Smith did not follow their laws and with missing his drug test other harmful substances in his system cannot be ruled out.\u00a0 However, Mr. Smith also has complications with chemotherapy and he has found relief through marijuana use.\u00a0\u00a0 Additionally, if Cedar-Sinai considers Norman Smith to have a substance abuse problem with marijuana, then is it fair to say that this prevents him from receiving treatment?\u00a0 Often people think of substance abuse as out of the user\u2019s control, so to penalize someone for that could be considered harsh.<br \/> Finally, let us not forget that it is always possible that marijuana is an unfair target.\u00a0 Would a coffee drinker be denied a cardiac procedure if he or she were unable to kick a Dunkin Donuts habit?\u00a0 Of course many would say \u201cwell marijuana is not totally legal and caffeine is.\u201d\u00a0 This statement is not incorrect but that is more a matter of ink on legal documents.\u00a0 The comparison is still intriguing.\u00a0 One important fact to come out of this situation is that medical marijuana users may have to be conscious of the policies that their medical facility operates under.\u00a0 This is in no way to blame Mr. Smith as it likely has not occurred to many people to investigate this matter. \u00a0Hopefully, future breakthroughs in stem cells or organ cloning would eliminate the debate on this topic.\u00a0 In the meantime, Norman Smith, we wish you the best and hopefully any attention you garner can result in a speedy recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[460,2010,2011,1993,77,56,9,51,2012,1,3,2013,61],"tags":[3034,4578,4579,4561,2655,2636,2631,4580,4581,6],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}