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For some ten years now I have dispensed with my religious beliefs and have taken the route of a freethinker. I believe that one should be at liberty to do whatever one wants as long as there is no injury to another party. But while I have dropped my former beliefs. I still am intimately close to many people who are religious. Most of them are Christians.
A family member of mine is facing a dilemma. She is a nurse who provides care for people dying from terminal illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other diseases. Many of these people are in their last months, weeks, or even days. The majority are in severe pain and are prescribed opioids—the usual Percocet, Oxycontin, Oxycodone, among other painkillers like Valium are given to these patients. The problem Marcy, (not her real name) has, is that quite often, there comes a point of diminishing returns. In fact, sooner than later the pills lose their potency and eventually no longer work.
At this stage, the only antidote Marcy finds is marijuana. Ganja is illegal in her state, and while she has seen the benefits, she cannot ask that it be prescribed to the patient. There are times she wants to convince some of them to use the plant, however, the penalties for giving out this kind of advice are harsh. These include losing one's license to jail time.
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Interestingly, this is not the main reason she refuses to convince her patients to use it. She has deeply held Christian beliefs. If my memory serves me well, she has been a Christian since her teenage years and refuses to budge when it comes to her beliefs.
And while I respect other people’s beliefs, I do not think it is right to withhold information from people who are suffering and need all the help they can get in those last moments?
I try to tell her that there is nowhere in the bible (as far as I can see) where ganja is mentioned. I told her that as far as I know, her god told the people in the bible to use the things he gave them; whether it be the flora or the fauna to enhance their lives. I assume that if there is a God that created everything, he created ganja for a purpose, and seeing that people have been using it for millennia, then why now, should it be a problem?
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I have found the religious and legal arguments against ganja quite ludicrous. Marcy knows this too. The conclusion, therefore, is that, for her, it is about professional preservation, which I have no right to criticize for we have all been guilty of this crime.
Marcy, like all of us, operates within a much bigger system. A system of rules and regulations by which she must abide. But would it be bad to break the rules in the case of relieving pain? Would it be wrong to convince patients or the family of these patients to give try ganja? For if one swears to provide care, should this not be at any cost?
This, of course, sounds a bit naïve. People have bills to pay, and careers to think about. And especially now that Marcy is close to retirement, this might not be a correct course of action.
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In this ethical conundrum, one is forced to obey the law and watch the ones over whom they have been placed in charge suffer needlessly.
Whatever the answer, I think the real crime here is denying people the comfort of dying with little or no pain. It is bad enough that many languish in hospice care, away from loved ones being pumped full of toxic chemicals that no longer provide relief. While the tide regarding ganja is turning. One mourns for those who will not live to experience the miracle of this safe natural remedy.
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