Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 Source: South Dade News Leader (FL) Copyright: 2014 South Dade News Leader Contact: http://www.southdadenewsleader.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5527 Authors: Larry Diehl & Patrick Sicher THE HUMAN SIDE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA Cristi Bundukamara gave up on Florida last fall. She and her husband Francis, a teacher for 16 years at South Dade High School known to everybody as "Coach Bundy", uprooted their life in Homestead and moved their seven children to Colorado in November because of their son's illness. "Reggie started having seizures at age seven," she said. "My son was having six to twelve grand mal seizures every three days." Grand mal seizure are characterized by severe muscular convolutions, unconsciousness, followed by deep exhaustion, confusion and, usually, amnesia, migraines and nausea. Her son was nine before he was diagnosed with DRPLA, a rare progressive brain disorder. Only three people in Florida have it, according to Bundukamara. "My daughter Miah was diagnosed at age eight and started having seizures at eleven," she said. "My husband tested positive for it. The disease is passed genetically." The family did its research and exhausted the available medical options for their children. It was then that friends urged her to watch a Dr. Sanjay Gupta TV special last August on the encouraging results of medical marijuana use. There were several Israeli studies documenting the benefits of high-CBD (cannabidiol) marijuana oil, confirming good results for patients with severe seizures. "I'm a nurse-practitioner," said the former nursing professor at Miami Dade College's Homestead Campus. "We went to Mexico to try stem cell therapy. We tried acupuncture. I went to Canada for homeopathic remedies. I never thought of medical cannabis before then." Leaving Homestead, a community where they had planted deep roots and had made many friends, was a difficult decision born of necessity. "We came to Colorado in desperation," she said. "It was the only safe access market for high-CBD marijuana." The family relied on the Colorado's Stanley brothers' non-profit Realm of Hope for their supplies. Her son first had a 50% reduction in seizures with cannabis oil, but although stabilized, his seizures didn't continue to decrease. "We tried higher and lower concentrates but he's been systemically sick," she said. "Cannabis works better with cancer. It's a different kind of medication. It can take two years at a low dose until the body improves." Now, a state constitutional amendment allowing the sale of medical marijuana will be up for a vote in November. If approved, it could pave the way for the Bundukamara family to return home and prevent families from having to face a similar situation. Florida's ballot initiative on medical marijuana use was successfully promoted by Orlando-area trial attorney John Morgan. Morgan and his wife founded the Hunger Relief Center for the Second Harvest Food Bank in 2013. Morgan got involved with and funded a petition effort that ultimately got medical marijuana on the Florida ballot. According to Ben Pollara, campaign manager for "United for Care" that promotes the ballot question, Morgan's father benefited from medical marijuana in his struggle with cancer and emphysema. "The marijuana provided a quality of life in his last days," said Pollara. "John's younger brother is a quadriplegic in a wheelchair and had multiple cancer treatments. The marijuana allows a semblance of a normal life without the fog of opiate painkillers." Even though Colorado has been very progressive in the sale and distribution of medical marijuana, there are still problems administering it according to Bundukamara. The marijuana oil can be expensive, costs average hundreds of dollars a month. There is no insurance covering this medicine and you cannot claim the medical expenses on your taxes. "You have to pay cash for the product because the banks have to listen to the federal government that says it's illegal," said Bundukamara. "Doctors are reluctant to prescribe it because of the resistance from the federal government, even in Colorado." "We had to change neurologists because she thought cannabis was a waste of time," she added. "There is a whole generation of people who have to be retrained." "Marijuana is still a Schedule 1 drug, cocaine is only a Schedule 2," said Bundukamara. "It has to be federally re-scheduled but no one is talking about that. If I cross a state line, I could be arrested for federal drug trafficking. You can't fly with it even with a doctor's prescription because it's a Schedule 1 drug." According to the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, Schedule 1 substances are those that: * have a high potential for abuse * have no currently accepted medical use in treatment, and * have no accepted safety for use under medical supervision. "I'm not promoting recreational use," Bundukamara concluded. "The fear is some will claim they have pain in order to get marijuana. Well, who cares! If it cures one person, it's worth it." For those who argue that the initiative would simply allow marijuana for everyone, Pollara from the United For Care campaign responded, "That cynical argument is not supported by the facts. With thousands suffering, you can't spend a day with these people and not be touched by them." Morgan and his firm have contributed $3,785,896 to the campaign or 70% of the People United for Medical Marijuana PAC. The major opponent is Las Vegas mogul Sheldon Adelson who contributed $2.5 million or 91% of the Drug Free Florida committee's PAC. A May 5, 2014 Quinnipiac poll in Florida showed 88 percent support for adults legally using marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's prescription. Among voters over 65 years old, the support was 84 percent to 13 percent. The poll recorded support for legal possession of marijuana for personal use at 53 percent to 42 percent. By last month, 23 states plus DC had legalized medical marijuana. Ohio and Pennsylvania have legislation pending to permit a ballot question on the issue. Eleven other states either decriminalized or permitted restricted forms of medical marijuana in early 2014, including Alabama, Florida ("Charlotte's law" exception), Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, North Carolina on July 3 and finally, Missouri on July 14. On July 5, New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing medical cannabis. When he announced an agreement with the legislature on establishing a medical marijuana program, the Governor said, "Under no circumstances would smoking of marijuana be allowed." The Florida Supreme Court agreed with strict limits when it approved ballot language on January 28, stating only people with debilitating medical conditions would qualify for medical marijuana. If voters approve ballot question #2 in November, Florida becomes the 34th state to allow medical cannabis.