Pubdate: Mon, 10 Mar 2014
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Joe Fiorito

POT IS IN THE AIR - AND ON IT

Al Graham was in town the other day. He and I have a relationship not 
unlike those based on social media; we have mutual friends. We met 
for the first time eight years ago, at a gathering of many experts on 
the subject of the medical use of cannabis.

Al said, "I was there to listen, to learn."

He also wrote about the conference for a magazine and, since then, he 
has gone on to host an Internet radio show about cannabis. You should know him.

He said, "I'm 52 years old. I've been using cannabis medicinally for 
about 10 years. I have Crohn's disease. It's a digestive disorder, an 
autoimmune illness with no cure." What's that like?

"You go through flare-ups. You get cankers, ulcers, cramping, 
diarrhea, pain." He remembers the early stages with a grimace: "I lay 
in the hospital two weeks, bleeding out; they gave me maternity pads 
and support stockings to wear, to hold things together. I had bladder 
infections, liver infections. I weighed 185 pounds. I went down to 119."

He said, "I had a prescription for narcotics when I got out of the 
hospital. I filled it, but three years later, I had only used six 
pills. I didn't want to take them. I was concerned about getting addicted."

Does cannabis work?

"I find there's no guarantee that it takes all the pain away, but it 
numbs the pain, makes it bearable." And, more importantly, it's not 
as hard on him as prescription painkillers.

He still has to go to the hospital for specialized treatments for his 
illness which cost roughly $3,200; he needs a treatment every six 
weeks; he's had some 70 of these. What does a treatment do?

"It knocks down the immune system; you build up a new one." The 
result? "Your energy level drops. You end up sleeping 12-14 hours a 
day." Yikes.

"When I leave the clinic, I smoke a joint in the car; I can feel the 
tension leaving me." He is not the one who is driving when he does this.

OK, what about the radio show? "Six or seven years ago, I got a call 
inviting me on to talk about cannabis and Crohn's; I've been 
advocating. I've been a guest several times."

The show on which he was a guest is broadcast on PACE Radio - People 
Advocating Cannabis Education. You may find it on the Internet at 
pace-online.ca.

He was good on-air.

"In October, I got my own show, twice a week, live on Mondays and 
Wednesdays at 9 p.m." Does Al have any background as a journalist? "I 
spent some time as the reefer reporter for Rock 107 out of 
Belleville." I clearly don't listen to enough radio.

What sort of stuff does Al cover on his show? "Last time, I talked to 
a cannabis patient advocate about the benefits, about what got him 
involved. I have an hour. I also have joint hosts." Laughter ensued.

He meant, of course, co-hosts. "There are five others - two in B.C., 
one in Alberta, one in Quebec, one in Nova Scotia. I'm the Ontario host."

He said, "We talk about advocacy, the use of vaporizers in hospitals, 
we've spoken to cannabis producers." To lighten things up, each week 
he tries to find a song that touches on cannabis. And then he told me 
something that I'd only heard as a rumour, about the coming cannabis 
regime in Canada.

"There's a company in Holland that has a licence to grow in Canada. 
They are also exporting." Apparently, there is also a company in 
Jamaica that is close to getting the necessary approvals.

Finally, why was Al in town? "There's a lady who reached out to me. 
She's a nurse. She has an illness. She's never used. I have a 
vaporizer to loan her. She's dealing with chronic pain."

I hope it works.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom