Description

This video from ReasonTV talks about medical Marijuana and minors.

Transcript

Drew Carey: We all want what’s best for our kids but when this disagreement about what is best, who should have the final say, parents or politicians? It has the kind of natural beauty that Golden State is famous for but life here is calmer at San Francisco to the north or Los Angeles to the South. With sunshine surfing in safe streets, California San Louis Obispo County is a good place to grow up. Owen Beck: While I was 17 in high school, just about to graduate. Drew Carey: Owen Beck played football and soccer first high school. Owen Beck: You know, it’s pretty oblivious to all the problems in the world until it happens then. I was playing soccer and it was really hurting one day when I was running so I just had to stop playing soccer and get an MRI. It was just medium-sized tumor just in the middle of my leg. Drew Carey: Doctors told Owen he had bone cancer. Debbie: I started crying. Drew Carey: Owen’s parents Debbie and Steve. Debbie: And then they said to Owen, the doctors said Owen is going to change his life. Owen: Actually at that time I was just concerned with getting through the next day. Drew Carey: The whole family’s calm, California life stopped and the Becks headed to Stanford Medical Center. Debbie: I was worried that he was going to die. Owen: 17 years old and your life just stopped. Drew Carey: Chemotherapy began right away and the chemicals attacked Owen’s hair follicles, stomach cells, and mouth. Owen: So I got bunch of mouth sores which is very painful. I couldn’t eat very much and then it destroys you appetite and then whatever you can eat you throw up. Drew Carey: And for all in the athlete, yet another blow. Doctors amputated his leg to try to stop cancer from spreading. Owen: When I woke from surgery, it felt like my leg was still there. Drew Carey: Owen was introduced to a bizarre new agony called phantom pain. Owen: It felt like someone had driven thousands of nails into where my leg would be. For the first three months after my surgery, I would just lay awake at night because I couldn’t go to sleep because it hurts a lot. Drew Carey: All the powerful medications available in drugstores seemed worthless. Debbie: We had a whole medicine cabinet in there full of pills that he took every single day and it did nothing. Drew Carey: Debbie and Steve searched for anything that would help Owen feel better. One option however, just wasn’t on the radar. Steve I really didn’t think of that in his situation because of his age. Drew Carey: A new kind of drugstore had recently come to the nearby city of Morro Bay. It offered medical marijuana. State government allows us for medical marijuana and local officials welcomed the new dispensary and its owner Charlie Lynch. Charlie Lynch: Before we even opened I had the mayor and the city council members all came by and toured the facility. Drew Carey: That’s the mayor shaking Lynch’s hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new dispensary helps spark discussion between Owen and his dad. Owen: I was just talking one day with my dad and we brought the subject of it. Steve: Owen is right. If that will work that’s what we’re going to do. Drew Carey: The Becks knew that many people think that it’s inappropriate to give medical marijuana to a minor. In fact, again and again, the local sheriff has made it clear that he doesn’t wasn’t medical marijuana dispensaries in his county. Sheriff: It is not in the best interest of a community that prides itself in providing a healthy family environment. Drew Carey: But the Becks weren’t concerned with what other people thought. They were focused on helping their son. Debbie: You’re going to do what you need to do to help your child. Drew Carey: So the Becks got a written doctor recommendation and headed to Lynch’s dispensary. Since Owen was 17, one of his parents would have to purchase the medical marijuana for him. Charlie Lynch: He came in with his father. He was looking really thin and sickly. That’s definitely a sad situation for such a nice guy. Steve: Several times we would go in and Charlie would say, “You don’t have to pay. We’ll take care of it.” because he was just compassionate kind of a guy. Drew Carey: The medical marijuana improved Owen’s appetite. It eased his pain and nausea like nothing else had. It was the traditional meds that made him feel stoned. Owen: They would give hardcore painkiller that would just make me dull out basically and fall asleep and with the marijuana, I could do what I needed to do during the day and just not be in pain I could be comfortable. Drew Carey: Owen experience is more than one person’s anecdote. The medical benefits of marijuana also known as cannabis are well-documented. Dr. David Bearman: Cannabis is amazingly useful. As matter of fact, it’s probably too useful for its own good. Drew Carey: Dr. David Bearman has spent about 40 years of treating patients and studying cannabis. Dr. David Bearman: When you see the list of things that cannabis can help people say, “You’re pulling my leg.” Drew Carey: So may prominent organization look favorably upon medical marijuana. Dr. David Bearman: We know that cannabis has medicinal value not only from the 5000 years of experience but from hundreds of studies that had been done at world class institutions around the world. Debbie: When Owen finally found something that was calming, it calmed the whole family down. Drew Carey: But not all was calm in San Louis Obispo County. Charlie Lynch: They came in and threw me on the ground and rushed through the house like I was a criminal or something. Drew Carey: Lynch was cuffed and brought to this federal detention center. How did it happen? The sheriff invited the DEA to raid Lynch’s home and dispensary. Charlie Lynch was an easy target since medical marijuana is still illegal under federal law. Charlie Lynch: And I had no idea how I was going to get out of jail. My family posted a $400,000.00 bail using their own personal property. Drew Carey: Eventually, Lynch got out but he was far from free. For many months, he has been under various forms of home detention. Charlie Lynch: They applied an electronic monitoring system to my ankle. Drew Carey: The device monitors Lynch’s movements. If he leaves his house some time other than during designated hours, federal agents will know. Each day he spends two hours charging the ankle monitor. Since the charging cord is so short, he rigged up his extension cord to give himself access to a little more of his home. Without the extra slack, Charlie Lynch wouldn’t be able to use the restroom. Debbie: Now we have a sick child. We have a son without a leg that medical marijuana helps. What is it they don’t understand about this? Drew Carey: We wanted to find out but neither the sheriff nor the DEA would agree to an interview. The federal government’s official position is that marijuana has no medical value. Dr. David Bearman: There’s an enormous amount of politics that’s involved in drug policy and not nearly enough science. Drew Carey: A pharmacist can fill a prescription for medical amphetamines without getting raided. Doctor’s can even get patients medical cocaine but medical marijuana, well that’s so dangerous. The DEA bust the dispensaries with armed agents. Dr. David Bearman: The federal government is a disgrace to science on this issue. Drew Carey: Today, Owen uses this cool robo-leg to get around. He’s going to college and his cancer is in remission but the Becks still can’t believe that Charlie Lycnh is facing numerous federal charges. In fact, because Lynch had clients like Owen who are under age 21, he faces increased penalties. In California, the average sentence for first-degree murder is 20 years but if convicted on all counts, Charlie Lynch could face a sentence of 100 years in prison. Charlie Lynch: It’s so hard to imagine that they would want to me. Owen: He’s not a man you would consider someone who needs to spend the rest of lifetime in bars when he was just trying to help people. Debbie: He had a prescription from a doctor in Stanford and they took his cuff. These guys don’t get it. Drew Carey: The DEA continues to raid dispensaries all across California. There were 50 raids last year alone. Are we really helping minors by keeping them from medical marijuana at all costs or are we treating their parents like children. Debbie: I think the federal government is too big and too bossy. Drew Carey: Charlie Lynch’s trial is set for this summer. Jurors probably won’t know that state and local laws allowed Lynch to run a dispensary. In a federal case all that matters is federal law. For reason.tv, I’m Drew Carey.