We very recently had a story about Timothy Garon. He was a medical marijuana patient who was in need of a liver transplant, but had been turned down due to the fact that his doctor had prescribed him medical marijuana. The "Seattle Times" is sadly reporting that Mr. Garon has passed away.

"Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to smoke pot to alleviate for nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant"

I simply can not believe that a man has died unnessiscarily due to the fact that he was legally prescribed marijuana by his physician in a state where voters had passed a law to allow its use. Please read more for how you can get involved and possibly stop this crime from happening in the future.

Medical marijuana users are being declined to be placed on the transplant list because their doctors are prescribing them medical marijuana! This AP story brought to you by Yahoo takes you through the hurdles that Timothy Garon (a medical marijuana patient diagnosed with hepatitis C) has been going through to get placed on the transplant list for a replacement liver.

"No one tracks how many patients are denied transplants over medical marijuana use. Pro-marijuana groups have cited a handful of cases, including at least two patient deaths, in Oregon and California, since the mid-to-late 1990s, when states began adopting medical marijuana laws."

"Dr. Jorge Reyes, a liver transplant surgeon at the UW Medical Center, said that while medical marijuana use isn't in itself a sign of substance abuse, it must be evaluated in the context of each patient. "The concern is that patients who have been using it will not be able to stop," Reyes said."

When I first read this story I could not believe what I was reading. I personally find it absurd that we would decline a patient the chance at life for taking any medication that their doctor has prescribed them. Not only is marijuana far less addictive that prescription pain killers, it does not damage a patient's liver like some prescription medications do. In this case where the patient is receiving a liver transplant it is actually better for the transplanted organ. I will be doing more research into this, and promise to bring you more.

Update: Here's an editorial on the subject. Thanks alapoet!

Here is a following to our previous post about recent court ruling that found employers had the right to fire an employee for using medical marijuana during non-work hours. In an effort to protect medical marijuana patients rights, Assembly Bill 2279 is headed to the Assembly floor for a vote in the near future. 

"The California Supreme Court decision said that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace," said Leno in a previous statement. "Long ago, the legislature prohibited patient use of medical cannabis in the workplace or during working hours. AB 2279 is merely an affirmation of the intent of the voters and the legislature that medical marijuana patents need not be unemployed to benefit from their medicine."

Would your employer fire you for taking the Valium that your doctor prescribed you? I didn't think so. Why should they be able to fire you for utilizing any medicine that your doctor has given you a prescription for?

I'm surprised that this hasn't already been covered on the front pages of SmokeDot but alas:

"BBC Radio 1 DJ Grooverider has been jailed for four years in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for cannabis possession

Grooverider goes on to say "I must have forgotten the spliff," he said in the interview. "It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted."

A more detailed report from back in early December detailing what happened, including other contrbend such as "pornographic DVDs", can be found here.

For a related story, I highly suggest readers interested in this story to look into the case of Keith Brown who was arrested after a search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g - so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing less than a grain of sugar - on the tread of one of his shoes.