AIDS PATIENT
[Mr. Greg Cooley came before the Arkansas House of Representatives
Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor in January 2001 to testify
in behalf of a medical marijuana bill. At that time, he was unable to walk
and was brought in a wheelchair. At the present time, he has become
bedfast and is not expected to live to year's end. August 2001]
Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you for this opportunity to address
you this morning.
My name is Greg Cooley and I am 36 years old. I've lived in LR since 1984.
I worked for the McMath Law Firm and Bruce McMath for eight years, until
1993 when I started my own consulting business.
I was infected with HIV in 1985. I now have full-blown AIDS and AIDS
related Mylopathy. I am virtually paralyzed from the waist down, have no
bladder control and have numerous digestive disorders.
A few years ago, I began taking new combination therapy for AIDS. The
nausea and loss of appetite was so intense that I turned to marijuana so
that I might eat and tolerate the medication that kept me alive. Taking
the expensive medication wasn't useful if I continually regurgitated it
into the toilet.
Marijuana is not only illegal but also hard to find and usually expensive.
I lived under constant fear of being arrested and I suffered greatly on
the days it was not available.
I asked my doctor repeatedly to let me try Marinol, a legal alternative to
marijuana. At the time, the policy at UAMS was to strictly limit
prescriptions for Marinol because it required excess paperwork and
monitoring for abuse.
After I could no longer depend on or regularly afford marijuana, my doctor
allowed me to try Marinol. I started with 5mgs a day, and now take 10 mgs.
a day.
My main complaints about Marinol are that it keeps my mind "foggy" or
"stoned" for most of the day and I cannot control the dosage. 5mgs. is too
little, and 10 mgs. is too much. With marijuana, I could control the dose
and remain "clear-headed" for far more hours at a time.
It's very rare that I leave my home due to physical limitations and a lack
of energy, and I enjoy working on my computer and reading. Unlike with
marijuana, Marinol severely limits my mental ability to do the things I
enjoy on a day to day basis.
While Marinol helps, my life would be so much better with the dosage
control that marijuana provided. Legalizing it for medicinal use would
also make it more readily available, and I would not have to put friends
at risk of prosecution for helping me.
Members of the committee, I can honestly say I would be dead today without
the use of marijuana. I may not make it through the year, and I don't
think providing people like me with legal access to medical marijuana
until a better delivery system is available is too much to ask.
I ask for your "Do Pass" support of this bill.