Spinal Injury

Subject is 61-year old white male, native of Arkansas injured 27 years ago by a stray gunshot wound at his business. A T-7 spinal cord injury resulted in paraplegia and nine months in rehabilitation.

"I encountered spasticity as a major stumbling block to rehab. They attempted to control the spasms with Valium for 3 months and my mind was so fogged that I revolted and asked to be removed from Valium -- I couldn't remember anything.

I then was prescribed Leorisal whose generic name is Baclofen -- 200 mg every 4 hours for the last 27 years. It -- along with range of motion exercise -- allays the spasms to a manageable extent. My legs shake uncontrollably -- they violently jump, stick out straight in front and don't bend at the knee. Baclofen is supposed to control this but it doesn't.

Episodes of spasms during the time of my rehab were violent and embarrassing. Two Vietnam vets who were in rehab with me took mercy on me. One night, they took me to the roof for ‘fresh air" where we smoked a marijuana joint, which immediately not only affected my mood but also affected the spasms . This was no secret to these paralyzed veterans and was known by the doctors who gave tacit approval by not calling the police. This commerce was facilitated by orderlies many of whom were Jamaican.

As the years have progressed I have continued to enjoy the benefits of nature's oldest medicine -- recently I have read reports where excavations in the Pszyrah region of Siberia are yielding 5000 year old bodies whose hair and DNA reveal regular marijuana use, possibly for pain or as a medicine.

A joint the morning and two or three in the evening keep me upbeat and spasm free, coupled with range of motion exercise and a healthy diet. I don't want to take Valuim or other incapacitating drugs even though I could. The marijuana allows me to keep an even keel and to avoid episodes of spasms. If I took Baclofin alone, I would not have this level of control. I would still have spasms.

Several years ago I was set up by the local drug task force and arrested for possession with intent to deliver. They had sold me two pounds the week before. I was convicted and sentenced to 9 months in jail for misdemeanor possession, as they couldn't prove I had ever sold any. They had offered $1000 to anyone who would swear I sold to them. The sheriff didn't want to put up with someone in a wheelchair, so I had to serve house arrest for nine months, pay a $1000 fine and $5000 to a lawyer, just to stay out of prison.

I'm a regular church member and an active member of my community. I've worked as a volunteer in several community efforts for public benefit over the last 24 years.

I dreadfully resent that other states have seen the light and allow their handicapped citizens to partake. Just because we're from a backward poor state with lots of religious fanatics, we may never be allowed to come out in the open and be anything but criminals in the eyes of the law.