Oregon Guard soldier's use of medical marijuana runs into Army's drug abuse policy

Source: The Oregonian

Spc. Richelle Golden arrived at Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington state in February in a wheelchair, expecting to stay a few weeks and be medically retired. She immediately reported that she used marijuana to combat pain and nausea and produced her Oregon medical marijuana card.

But five months later, the Oregon Army National Guard soldier is still at Joint Base Lewis-McChord facing court-martial and squeezed between her home state, which allows medical marijuana, and the Army, which forbids it.

...

In October 2008, her crippling joint pain was diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome, incurable autoimmune diseases. By January 2009, she couldn't work. Within months, the Salem mother of four couldn't walk or bathe herself. She began chemotherapy to control her flare-up. But she vomited so much and required so much pain medicine that her doctor suggested she try medical marijuana.

Retired Col. Ray Meyer reassured Golden that she could use marijuana because she was never going to return to duty. He had filed her separation paperwork himself months earlier. After her Oregon Health & Science University oncologist wrote a recommendation, Golden obtained a medical marijuana card on Jan. 15. Meyer registered as the official caregiver who would bring her marijuana.



Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/oregon_guard_soldier_use_of_me.html

Charging (court martialling) people for using medicine that isn't approved by big pharma is ridiculous

It's a variety of approved MMJ that's pretty potent stuff.

Good stuff too.

She should have kept quiet about it and it probably would have been "overlooked". By putting it out there she gave some prick a chance to score some points (or so they thought). Of course you can't expect a low ranking EM to be that savvy. Col. Ray gave her some damn bad advice, from a legal standpoint, if not a medical one. Hope she gets some leniency from her chain of command.

i'm sick of drunk assholes everywhere while people who really need marijuana are being punished. we are living in a time of high insanity.

Several employees have been fired by corporations for testing positive for marijuana in states where medical marijuana is legal, and the individuals were authorized to use that medical marijuana. The USSC needs to weigh in on this debate, and soon. If a substance is legal it should be illegal to deny someone employment (or any other benefit) because they use the substance in a legal manner.