Profile of a User of Medical Marijuana
Kyle Fletcher
The Medical Oncology floor at Huntsman Cancer
Hospital was just waking up for the day. A new shift of
(Huntsman Cancer Institute)
nurses were bustling about getting the patients ready for the day, doctors were going in and
out of patients rooms doing their morning rounds, and the nutritionists were dropping off
breakfast. While still only 8am it seemed that every patient was awake and ready for the day
because of the bustle of the staff. Every patient except one. Doctors were saving her for last,
the nutritionists had been instructed to avoid the room, and nurses went in and out quickly and
as silently as mice. This was Jenny Smiths room. The nurse explained to me that she had just
finished her chemotherapy treatment and was not feeling well. This was the patient with which
I was going to speak. After respectfully waiting until jenny felt well enough to talk to me I was
told that I could go into her room. Jenny was laying in bed and preferring the gentle darkness
to the harsh shine of the morning sun the shutters over her windows were blocking out her
beautiful view of the Salt Lake Valley. Despite being quite warm in the room Jenny was wearing
a knit beanie, to hide the fact that she had lost her hair, and was bundled under several
blankets. Having lost so much weight jenny always had trouble staying warm. Despite
obviously not feeling well Jenny smiled widely when I entered the room, and reached out
weakly to shake my hand.
Jenny Smith was a 28 year old female that had
been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia one
year earlier. Since that time she had undergone
several rounds of chemotherapy. This chemotherapy
had been complicated with severe weight loss, and
crippling nausea. The doctors had prescribed a
(iMarijuana.com, 2010)
controversial medication for her to use, both to combat the nausea and to stimulate her
appetite. This medication is called Marinol, a synthetic marijuana derivative. Medical
Marijuana is still not legal in the majority of U.S. states, but the current political push is to make
this medication available and legal to those people that could benefit from it. This was the
reason that I was talking to jenny; to get her opinion on the legitimacy of the use of medical
marijuana and to ask her opinion of about possible legalization.
Jenny explained that her chemotherapy was very difficult for her. Following her first
cycle of chemotherapy she had completely lost her appetite, and had been plagued with awful
nausea. To treat the nausea she had been prescribed many different medications Zophran,
Tigan, Phenergan, Inapsine and Compazine but all to no avail. For her suppressed appetite she
had several feeding tubes, but these were ineffective
because she was constantly vomiting. After much
suffering the doctors prescribed her Marinol. Jenny said
that her experience with medical marijuana had been “a
very positive one” (Smith). She reported that the
nausea had been controlled much better and that the appetite stimulating effect had helped
her to put some weight back on.
I spoke with Jenny about the side effects of Marinol: seizure (convulsions),paranoia,
extreme fear, fast heart rate, feeling light-headed, fainting, or unusual thoughts or behavior,
mood changes, dizziness, trouble concentrating, feeling "high", weakness, lack of coordination,
anxiety, confusion, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, warmth or tingly feeling, or sleep
problems (insomnia). ("Marinol Side Effects") she said that while she had experienced some of
the less serious side effects she felt that the overall “benefits of Marinol, had vastly outweighed
the risks” (Smith).
Thinking about how controversial the use of medical marijuana was I asked jenny if her
family and friends had been supportive of her taking the medication. Jenny said that initially her
family had several questions about how addictive it is, but once those questions were
addressed by the medical provide, her “family had been very supportive” (Smith). They had
expressed that she should do whatever she needed to do
in order to feel better.
While considering the wonderful help that the
synthetic marijuana had been to her I asked if she would
support legislation that made the use of medical
(produtividadezero)
marijuana legal. Her answer was surprising: she said that
she was torn. She did think that the medical marijuana has medical benefits; at the same time
she believed that the “abuse potential was very high” (Smith).
After leaving Jenny’s room, I was very impressed with her attitude. While her
diagnosis carried a very grim prognosis, she still had a positive attitude. I have been around
many cancer patients, both in the beginning when they are first diagnosed and at the end as
they pass away. I know that the journey through cancer is fraught with setbacks, pain,
suffering, ups and downs. While Jenny was still in the midst of her war with cancer she had
won a battle with nausea and weight loss, thanks to the Marijuana derivative medication
Marinol.
Work Cited
Huntsman cancer institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.huntsmancancer.org/
iMarijuana.com. (2010). Medical marijuana usa law. Retrieved from
http://www.imarijuana.com/laws/medical-marijuana-usalaws
"Marinol Side Effects.". Drugs.com. Web. 16 Jul 2013. <http://www.drugs.com/sfx/marinol-sideeffects.html>.
produtividadezero. (n.d.). Tumblr. Retrieved from http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/marinol
Smith, Jenny. Personal Interview. 07 july 2013.