Patient:
Sue Lester.
Age:
43.
Condition/Illness:
Arthritis and joint pain aggravated by long-term sports injuries.
Home:
Costa Mesa.
Using medical cannabis since:
2008.
Why did you start using medical marijuana?
I was having a lot of issues with pain in my joints and my doctors were prescribing me all sorts of pain medications. Many of them caused horrible side effects and I even had a severe allergic reaction to one of them. I have had problems with my kidneys in the past and most of the prescription medication was causing additional problems. In addition to that, all of the pills are potentially addictive if used long-term. I started having additional medical problems. I found out quickly that it wasn’t my original medical condition that was causing the most problems . . . it was the supposed “cures” I was being prescribed. So I opted to give medical marijuana a try.
Did you try other methods or treatments before marijuana?
Yes. Over the years I was prescribed Vicodin, Percocet, Percodan, Darvocet and a Soma Compound with Codeine, just to name a few. I tried many things.
What’s the most important issue or problem facing medical marijuana patients in California?
Safe access to quality-consistent, chemical-free, medical marijuana products. Many patients are too sick to grow their own marijuana, have children, live in places where they are unable to grow their own marijuana, have tried to grow themselves and can’t or they have no interest in growing marijuana. These people need places to go where they can be helped by people who have grown or made the marijuana products and know what they are going through. They can be specific about available options that might be good for them. Since marijuana is still federally a Schedule 1 drug, no doctor can prescribe it or give a patient any input on what kind to use, how to use it or how much to try. This is a huge problem. Medical marijuana collectives provide information for patients by patients and no one knows the product better than someone who has grown and/or made the product as well as used it.
What campaigns, groups or advocacy organizations are you involved with?
I am a member of OC NORML and the Orange County Directors Alliance. I am also the co-founder and director of Herban Elements, Inc., a California non-profit mutual benefit corporation in Costa Mesa. We focus on overall health and wellness for people with severe medical conditions and terminal illnesses. Providing medical marijuana is part of what we do. Herban Elements also makes a charitable contribution every month to various other organizations. [Editor’s note: Lester ran for the Costa Mesa City Council last month.]
What do you say to folks who are skeptical about marijuana as medicine?
Please take the time to educate yourself and keep an open mind. Sadly, in many cases it seems that unless someone has a medical problem or a terminal illness that marijuana has helped or had a friend or family member that has been helped by marijuana, there is a preconceived idea that this is just an excuse for a good time. There is also a lot of misinformation in the media and people are being stigmatized unfairly. Please do your homework, talk to people and make your decisions and comments from an educated place. Don’t wait until you or someone you love is dying to see what a positive difference it can make. If you don’t approve of the use of marijuana for medical reasons after you have done your due diligence, then that is fine. Please just don’t stand in the way of people who need it based on your own personal, moral values, especially when it is legal for medical use and has been since 1996.
