I have been very active over the past year to get medical marijuana legalized in NY (since my Mothers friend lost the battle with cancer).  My mothers friend lived in California and when she found out she was going to lose she wanted to go back to NY where her friends and family were.  Her last 6 months on this earth was made easier by me risking arrest by purchasing a medication that she could legally get when she lived in California.  The benefits that she told me about marijuana made me start to research the drug and try to make sence of the current drug policy here in the US.  Before my mothers friend died she talked to my mother about marijuana and told her how it has made this battle with cancer easier.  She did mention to my mother that I was the one getting it for her while she was in NY.

This weekend while I was at my mothers house my step father just returned from one of his friends house.  His friend was just told he was not going to win the battle he is fighting with cancer.  My step father does not talk to me we have never gotten along.  That next day my mother asked me if I knew anything about the benefits of Marijuana for terminally ill patients.  I then sent an email to some of the doctors I have been talking to for request of articles my mother should read.  I sent her a list.  I also forwarded a couple of emails I received in return from doctors that after hearing the story of my step fathers friend wanted me to know that if he was their patient they would have suggested it a long time ago. 

Yesterday I recieved an invite to my Mothers for dinner.  I went over there, my mother had told me that she printed a few of the articles to show my step father and asked his opinion.  According to my mother he was very interested in finding out more about Medical Marijuana.  She did not tell him about how active I have been over the past year and did not explain that I was the one that had sent her those articles.

After Dinner my mother approached the subject with my step father again.  This time he looked at me and said, "I will have to do some research on the subject before I bring the issue up to my friend"  Obviously, worried about what I would think of him if he brought up wanting his friend to try marijuana.  I then started talking about my mothers friend and the situation we were in over a year ago.  I also explained how I have been very active and have been invited to speak on the subject after a couple of articles have been published in the local paper.  I talked to him about the doctors I have met and the patients that are benefiting from it 15 minutes away in Vermont.  I gave him contact information for some doctors that have done research and tests on Marijuana. 

After I talked with him about it he got up walked away and has not talked to me since.  I just got off the phone with my mother and she told me that she tried to talk to him about it after I left their house and all he would say is, "I do not want to talk about your Druggie son in this house and I do not want him in my house again."

I am telling this story because my step father is a very caring person, he is very upset about what his friend is going though and was very interested in learning and researching this topic to see if his friend would benefit.  But, due to his feelings about me he will be stubborn enough to lose his compassion towards his friend and let this poor man suffer for the last few months of his life.