Cancer patient says medical marijuana has changed her life

by: Olivia DeGennaro 

Cancer patient says Medical Marijuana has changed her life
 
RENO, Nev. -- "I wouldn't be able to stand here and talk to you without the benefits of medical marijuana." Eva Losey-Grossman suffered serious injuries in a car crash a few years ago. She said without marijuana, "I would still be bound to my bed or possibly a wheelchair."

Now, Losey-Grossman is the manager of Sierra Wellness Connection, a medical cannabis dispensary in Reno. "I needed help and I feel like other people might need help, so that's why I'm here for them," she said.

"With metastatic breast cancer, there really isn't much they can do." Joetta Macillus is one of those "other people" who have benefited from using medical marijuana. Her breast cancer spread to her brain and doctors told her she didn't have long to live.

"I was getting to the point where I couldn't handle the pain meds anymore," Macillus said. "They were making me sicker than the actual treatment of cancer." So Macillus turned to medical cannabis to treat her pain. "And in fact I've gone off several drugs because of medical marijuana," she said.

Macillus said using cannabis also helps her handle the anxiety that comes along with having cancer. "I'm still facing a tough diagnosis," she said, "but I can face it without the anxiety issues; without the depression. It gives you hope."

But she wants people to know she doesn't fit a stereotype. "I don't smoke at all. I don't smoke it." Instead, Macillus drops cannabis oils in her food and drinks. Sometimes, she also uses capsules to consume marijuana.

"I've gone off all of my pain medications and I haven't looked back since," she said; and Macillus is not alone.

"I have patients coming in with Ziplock baggies of medicines they're being prescribed," Susan Stickel said. She is the manager at NVElements, a marijuana doctor's office in Reno. Stickel said patients often have a second bag of medications they're taking to combat the side effects from the first bag. "It's insane. They're going broke. They can't make their rent," she said.

"Marijuana has less of a negative impact than some of the other drugs that are already on the market," Renown Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dennis Rochier said. He believes we have a problem with pain killer addictions in the U.S.

"Over-prescription of opiates is a huge problem. It causes a lot of addiction. It causes a lot of deaths," Rochier said.

The Magers are strongly opposed to the current legalization or medical marijuana in Nevada. They have been lobbying against marijuana use for 20 years, since their son died in a marijuana-related crash. But even they said they think patients with severe illnesses should be allowed to use cannabis.

"I don't think anyone's opposed from terribly ill people receiving medical marijuana or children with seizures," retired nurse Illona Mager said.

But the couple believes many of the people getting cannabis cards in the Silver State do not fall into that category. "We have recreational marijuana right now under this medical marijuana program," Jerry Mager said, "because anyone who wants to get a card for any reason can obtain one."

For Joetta Macillus though, medical marijuana has had a life-changing effect.

"You're getting a real medicine," Macillus said. "A product that's tried and true and works. It's good for you. And it doesn't have the side effects.

"It's my life," she said. "I want to live as long as I can and as well as I can."