(Mount Olive Chronicle) Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris, remembers when a family member was suffering from debilitating nausea and extreme pain for months after her surgery for ovarian cancer.
Carroll knew that something as simple as marijuana could significantly limit his relative’s discomfort. He also knew it was illegal to use marijuana for any reason, including medical reasons.
The Assemblyman said the experience three years ago reinforced his belief that it is wrong to bar people like his relative from smoking marijuana if it could ease their suffering. It wasn’t long thereafter that Carroll joined in co-sponsoring an Assembly bill to legalize use of marijuana for medical reasons.
The bill is sponsored by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Mercer, and Carroll is the only Republican among a number of co-sponsors.
The legislator said another personal situation further spurred him to support the legalization of pot for medical reasons. He said his grandmother had been diagnosed with lung cancer and that doctors had given her six months to live.
“Six years later, she was still trucking on but she suffered from horrible pain,” Carroll said.
The doctors prescribed a derivative of heroin and cocaine to help ease the pain. It was an irony that did not get past Carroll.
“But marijuana is considered a problem?” he said.
Carroll said he has had his own painful, medical ailments which further illustrated why a prohibition on the use of medical marijuana makes no sense.
Funny how personal experiences with cancer can make even the most die-hard, law-and-order, family-values conservative Republican into a medical marijuana supporter.
There is a scene in the movie “Totally Baked” where the medical marijuana activists sneak some syrup of ipecac into the medical marijuana opponent’s drink. In case you don’t know, syrup of ipecac induces intense nausea and vomiting and is given sometimes to people who’ve been poisoned. As the opponent is on his knees, violently heaving and begging for relief, they drop down to him a number of pharmaceutical anti-emetics, telling him all he needs to do to end his nausea is just swallow and keep down one of those pills. Unable to do so and desperate for relief, he finally acquiesces to taking a bong hit, and his nausea is relieved almost instantly.
It’s a comedy and in no way do I ever support drugging a person without their knowledge. But man, oh man, do I ever run the syrup of ipecac fantasy in my brain whenever I encounter an ignorant reefer mad politician!
I hope the legislation goes through. I’d love to see New Jersey become the 14th?* MMJ state. I’m afraid to see what will happen if it is up to the new Governor-elect Christie. Talk about your “die-hard, law-and-order, family-values conservative Republican”, he is IT.
I think his sympathy was feigned to get elected, and his true colors will come shining through, to the dismay of the many suffering patients and all those who’ve done so much hard work on this issue.
On the other hand, I’d very much love to be wrong on this one.
*I can’t keep track of the number, what with the media reporting there are 13 or 14 depends on the source.
Michael Patrick Carroll is likely the most conservative elected official in New Jersey. (I grew up there; I know.)
Carroll is also arguably the most intellectual member of the Assembly.
In certain situations, the local guys can be a little more rational–no one’s going to puncture their close relationship with a constituency they know.
We could use more Republicans like this, please!