Ralph Wilson
Multiple Sclerosis patient
Ralph Wilson was driving home from the airport the first time he had an attack. Without warning, his eyes refused to cooperate. The sudden spell of uncontrollable double-vision while driving in highway traffic was very scary to Ralph, however he was reluctant to alarm the unwitting passenger who had just arrived from faraway Africa. Fortunately, Ralph quickly discovered how to stop the double images by closing one eye. He drove on, and home immediately. He called his family doctor and went in for an emergency examination. Ruling out diabetes and other conditions, the family physician referred Ralph to a neurologist. The neurologist ordered an M.R.I. test of the brain and discovered the cause right away. Ralph was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, (Latin for “many scars”) a degenerative nerve condition that gradually disables brain functions by blocking nerve signals in the brain. There is no known cause of this mysterious disease, and no known medical means to halt its progression. MS patients eventually suffer complete loss of motor skills--the body slowly shuts down as the illness develops into a sadly incurable, irreversible, lingering demise.
The neurologist showed Ralph his M.R.I. scan. Ralph’s brain was dotted with white spots that looked like sprinkles of sugar, and was quick to point out the few options that might help extend Ralph’s life-expectancy. He said, “You have Multiple Sclerosis. There is no known cure, but there are drugs that help control the symptoms. There are two choices: you may be injected once per day, or once per week. The daily injection is a very small needle, and the weekly injection requires a larger needle that must penetrate at least one half-inch into your muscle.” A working man with several different jobs, Ralph opted for the weekly injections. He had never used a hypodermic needle before, so it was an intense learning experience. He was given a grapefruit and told to push through the skin to get the feel of piercing flesh and muscle. He was instructed on how to avoid penetrating his veins with the medium-sized needles, while a nurse pushed a larger needle into his veins for an additional shot of drugs at that first visit.
Ralph was mostly home-bound with severe mental and physical fatigue accompanied by the dizzying double vision for the following three months. He couldn’t drive, and he couldn’t work. He could hardly get out of bed. A friend and fellow worker came to visit Ralph at his home. He convinced Ralph to get off his back and try to get back on his feet. Ralph was needed at work, and he needed to work, because his disability insurance was not adequate to pay his mortgage and other expenses. Fortunately, his psychological motivations were matched by a remarkable physical means of overcoming the overwhelming symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.
Researching his illness, Ralph had read that marijuana helped ease pain, and so he tried using it as medicine rather than an occasional recreational pursuit as he had in the past. He pushed himself up and out of bed, closed one eye to alleviate the double-vision, and he began using marijuana to combat his symptoms: the pain in his joints, numbness in his legs, and the painful tingling sensations that wracked all of his extremities like small jolts of electricity.
Ralph, an avid golf enthusiast and golf-course employee, returned to work, slowly at first, by medicating with cannabis in the parking lot. The more Ralph smoked and worked, the better he felt and the better he was able to deal with the disease. He found that chewing marijuana worked to quells his symptoms when he was not able to smoke on the job. His doctor specifically authorized Ralph’s part-time work-week, calling it “therapy”. And although he was at first reluctant to authorize marijuana as a medicine, the neurologist did sign the documentation after questioning Ralph and discussing the health risks and benefits of this controversial herbal medication. The neurologist became increasingly convinced of the value of cannabis in Ralph’s case as time wore on.
Ralph was eventually able to work at several other golf and country clubs, at times holding down up to four different part-time jobs. With marijuana, Ralph is a productive member of society with a reasonable quality of life, despite the devastating pain and fatigue of his disease. Without marijuana Ralph would be bedridden, and probably unable to care for himself, physically, or financially. After many years of study, Ralph’s neurologist is also convinced of the therapeutic value of cannabis, in part because Ralph’s is a distinctly rare case of MS that seems to have stopped progressing. Ralph’s symptoms have not led to complete paralysis, and his M.R.I. tests have not shown further neurological damage. Ralph’s symptoms are reduced by using cannabis, which is common among MS patients, but the one-way progression of MS plaque-scars in his brain has apparently stopped, and that is very unusual. The doctors have no answer as to why Ralph‘s condition has not worsened, but they cannot rule out the possibility that marijuana may be the key to Ralph’s continued survival in this unusual case.
Ralph lives in a small house in a big city. He is a legal marijuana patient in a world that is generally hostile to nature’s greatest medicine. Ralph grows marijuana in his home so he is physically able to leave his home every day. While Ralph is out earning a living at four star country clubs and fancy golf resorts, his house and garden are left home alone. To Ralph, cannabis is essential to his life--absolutely priceless. The “feel good” effects of marijuana are not essential, only a luxury to other people, but it is illegal for non-patients, and so the value of cannabis is far greater that the value of gold. Combining all of these principles often results in disaster for people who are clinging to life in the face of horrendous diseases. They came in through the bathroom window. They must have been small, and very quick. The burglars rummaged the house and made off with many small belongings, including a few bags of marijuana. But they must have taken more than they could carry, because they left Ralph’s suitcase at the bus stop on the corner of his block. Police officers found the case, saw the house address where it belonged, and entered the open front door while Ralph was busy buying groceries on his way home from work. Ralph was elated to be off work that Friday, but his mood changed drastically at the sight of a police car in his front yard. He slowly walked into his disheveled home and learned what had happened.
Luckily, Ralph lives in a big city with well-educated police officers. He quickly presented the legal documentation of his medical marijuana authorization, saying, “Hey, I know what it looks like, but I’m no drug dealer . . .” The cop cut him off with, “I’m not going to arrest you because I don’t believe in arresting non-criminals.” The cop confided that he has a relative with the same illness, so he had personal knowledge of the health benefits of cannabis for people with Multiple Sclerosis. But the officer was also astounded to discover that Ralph was still so active after so many years with the paralyzing condition. “I consume a lot of cannabis to keep the illness at bay,” replied Ralph. The cop understood, but had to do his duty. He said, “Well, I’m not going to take you in, but I have to take all the plants downstairs.” The blue-clad enforcer scanned the living room without seeing it. He said, “I’m not going to search anywhere else,” intentionally ignoring small amounts of cannabis that the burglars had left behind.
The officer did his duty and delivered the evidence to the station, filed a report, and probably forgot all about Ralph and his problems. His superiors, however, took the case to another level. Because he was not a criminal, Ralph was not charged in criminal court. He was never convicted of any wrong doing. But once the legal system get its teeth into a person, it can be as uncaring as a pit bull with lock-jaw. Throughout the US, the War on Drugs has become a many-headed monster, a Medusa, ugly enough to turn its victims to stone. The Civil Forfeiture laws used against operating a house for manufacturing marijuana can still be used against a legal marijuana patient. Ralph was shocked to find that his house was going to be taken by the government, even though he had never been charged with a crime!
The civil attorneys had investigated Ralph and inspected the evidence held against him. They counted his one hundred and forty plants, many of which were uprooted cuttings that were many months from maturation, and they multiplied that number by one thousand, saying that Ralph had possessed one hundred and forty thousand dollars worth of drugs. Therefore, they were going to seize his house in civil, not criminal, court. Ralph was astounded. He has no choice but to come up with the money to hire an expert attorney.
After thousands of dollars and over a year of negotiations and meetings with police officials and city attorneys, Ralph’s legal team was finally able to stop the city from seizing his small home. However, it was not articulate legal wrangling, but rather, the very tangible threat of newspaper and television reports on the case that finally unlocked the legal vise meant to squeeze Ralph out of his small house.
Medical marijuana patients must be wary of cops as well as robbers. After many expensive hours of legal defense, the civil attorneys finally did give up their attack, but the burglars have also been uncomfortably persistent. They struck again, stealing the fruits of another garden in Ralph’s home. Fortunately, Ralph survived that second onslaught without the assistance of police or courts.
Now Ralph’s garden is locked up tighter than ever, with security lights and an alarm. His life has more or less stabilized after the disastrous legal battle that shook his world. Ralph still uses large amounts of marijuana to stave off the painful cocoon of disability and death that is called Multiple Sclerosis. At this time, Ralph is still able to work and enjoy golf because he is blessed with the healing properties of cannabis. For those unfamiliar with the typical case history of MS patients and the typical outcome of civil forfeiture cases, it should be noted that this is, in fact, a relatively happy ending.
