Marijuana Policy Project

In 2000, I had an accident at work. I was lifting a large container and felt a shooting pain in my neck and right shoulder. As a result, the vertebrae in my cervical spine, which are right at the base of my skull, were severely damaged, and I have had to undergo two subsequent surgeries since then to try, unsuccessfully, to relieve the pain. Since the accident, I have had an incredible amount of unremitting chronic pain in my neck and back. This pain is constant and creates a great deal of difficulty in my ability to sleep. It feels as if someone is pulling down on my neck and shoulder with a huge hook in my right shoulder blade. At times, the pain radiates down my right arm and into my right hand and fingers. Coupled with the difficulty of not being able to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, this has severely affected my quality of life in a negative way.

Since the accident, I have been in treatment with a pain management doctor. He has had to prescribe me Oxycontin, Avinza, MS-Contin, and a myriad of other heavy opiate narcotics so that I can try to function as a member of society and work to contribute to my family and the tax system. Unfortunately, these legal pain relievers cause me many severe negative side effects, which affect my ability to be a functional member of society almost as much as the pain itself. When taking these pills, I usually feel very “druggy” and out of it, and my response time is slowed. My mental clarity is not as sharp and there are negative physical side effects as well.

I have tried marijuana in the past to treat my pain. It is very, very effective. For my chronic pain and overall mental clarity, marijuana far exceeds the benefits of these strong and expensive drugs, with literally none of the unpleasant side effects that long term opiate users experience. When I have tried it, it has allowed me to significantly reduce my opiate usage. If medical marijuana were to become legal in Delaware, and I was able to get it consistently, I would likely completely cease my opiate usage and switch over to marijuana, which is much more effective for me. It is a travesty of justice that I cannot currently use marijuana, on which you cannot fatally overdose and which is not physically addictive, and am forced to use substances that are incredibly addictive and kill thousands of people each year in overdose deaths. Please pass S.B. 94 and let me choose the best treatment for me.