FDA

(Food
Drug

&
Administration)
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
October 21, 2015

Project requesting assistance: Mary Isnt a Convict Program

Project help: Assistance in Documenting true effects of Medical Marijuana
Acting commissioner: Dr. Stephen Ostroff

Dear Dr. Ostroff,

I would like the FDAs help in once and for all proving whether or not
Medical Marijuana has any beneficiary properties or if it should just become
illegal. In recent years there has been so much discussion about its
properties and whether or not it should be used as a medicine. There
definitely needs to be someone credible to end the discussion once and for
all on whether we should allow medical marijuana to be used or not.
As someone who has continuously worked alongside this program in
New Mexico I have seen how truly beneficial it can be to patients who use it
as recommended. However, this is different for every patient and it is hard
for us to regulate how much to give to each patient.
One patient in particular who was my reasoning behind me working for
this department. When he was younger he was diagnosed with PTSD and
thought he would never be able to live a normal life until he started to get
medicated. He was finally able to start living a normal productive life going
to work and not having any more problems.
I believe that this can change life as we know it, changing multiple
lives if only the government would allow it. This is why I come to you and ask
41 Fort Bayard Road,
Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

for your help

order
this research.

in
to furthering

Sincerely,
Alex
Carrillo
Director of New Mexico Health Department

Proposal
Along with a few other states, New Mexico was one of the first states to
experiment with medical marijuana. In July of 2007 we began sending out
medical marijuana cards in the mail to patients who qualified and could
really benefit from it. At the time, Governor Bill Richardson called it the Lynn
and Erin Compassionate Use Act after Lynn Pierson and Erin Armstrong, two
cancer patients who were proud advocates of medical marijuana.
Lynn and Erin were two respectable citizens who unfortunately got cancer,
but instead of just accepting their fate and waiting to die they decided to
look for an alternative. Going through extensive treatments and
chemotherapy they were barely able to live normal lives. However, they
heard about how marijuana could ease their prolonging effects of
chemotherapy and were willing to try anything that would make them as
productive as they used to be. After their next chemotherapy session they
consumed a little bit of cannabis and the effects were astonishing they didnt
feel sore and nauseous like they usually would, they were able to continue
their days without as much pain. Thankfully, Governor Bill Richardson was
able to see that they were using this substance as medicine to improve their
lives.
Medical Marijuana can be a great asset to our society if we are willing to put
in the time and money in order to do the proper research and fully
41 Fort Bayard Road,
Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

understand
what
with. In the
we
have
done a
great amount of

we are dealing
last decade

research
and
have had a few great breakthroughs. This only includes a limited
amount of states which are willing to take the risk legal ramifications in order
to bring their citizens some hope. Every time someone does research on
marijuana they are taking a risk of going to jail, even if they state it has
allowed them to do this research, because it is still illegal in the federal
governments eyes.
A limited number of states have allowed their residents to participate in this
research or lifestyle because they live in fear of the federal government.
California was where the movement began and had the most dispensaries
and patients, it was a prosperous community for a while bringing in hundreds
of thousands of dollars. That was until the federal government decided to
raid a majority of the dispensaries in California and arrest the shop owners,
charging them with multiple felonies.

Problem
After the raid in California everyone
that was even remotely related to the
medical marijuana industry was
uncertain of what their future looked
like. However this didnt seem to stop
many people, if anything this publicity made more people believe that
marijuana was possibly a cure. Going from having 8 states illegally providing
their citizens to now 24 states illegally providing their citizens with medical
41 Fort Bayard Road,
Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

marijuana.
This
huge problem

creates a

because it turns regular

patients trying to get their medicine into criminals.

Many parents are willing to take these risks in order to help their children live
healthier and more productive lives then they wouldve otherwise. In one
specific case a little girl was having over 200 seizures a week and her
parents didnt know what to do, she was supposed to die any day and every
seizure made the situation so much worse. Her parents had no idea what
they should do they had gone to over 10 different physicians and they had
prescribe her over 50 different medications but nothing would help. The
medication wasnt helping at all if anything it was making things a lot worse,
it started to have side effects and she began to hear voices in her head.

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

Luckily for
this
parents
werent
willing
give
up on her and kept looking

little girl, her

to
for

something that would help

her
out. They
had heard of some other patients who were able to stop having as many
seizures by using THC. They began administrating a THC liquid hoping it
would have a positive effect. Her parents immediately noticed an
improvement in their daughter. She went from having close to 200 seizures a
week to having less than 5 seizures. This was the best medication they had
ever given her, she was finally able to start having a normal life that a child
should.
This medication is helping their daughter live a normal and productive life
but they now run the risk of going to jail for giving their child illegal drugs.
This is a terrible situation to be in because they are trying to give their
daughter the best life they possibly can, but in the governments eyes they
are doing something terrible and will be prosecuted for it.
This is just one situation, but there are hundreds of situations like this one.
Their greatest problem is that they are doing something illegal and can go to
jail at any point. Even if someone has their medical marijuana license they
still run the risk of going to jail or getting in serious trouble.
I have had many personal experiences with many licensed patients and they
tell me that they do not feel much safer than they did when they didnt have
their license. One of my personal friends has told me many of his personal
experiences and I can understand where theyre coming from.
My friend Robert has told me that his license does help him in times because
hes allowed to carry up to 8 ounces and if he ever was to get pulled over in
the state of New Mexico he would be perfectly fine. However the law only
protects him inside of New Mexico if he was to go out of the state he would
get in serious trouble. His biggest fear is that the federal government will
decide to take action and arrest anyone with a medical license. This seems a
little paranoid but it makes sense because to the federal government they
are doing something illegal. Another problem my friend had was when he
was living in the dorms at Casas Del Rio last year. He would use his medicine
in the bathroom and was doing everything right according to the law. But one
41 Fort Bayard Road,
Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

day UNMPD
raided
took some of
his

his dorm and

smoking utensils and told

him he
was
only allowed one. Shortly
after
the
manager evicted him from the dorms even though he was doing everything
legally. This is one of the problems with him having a medical card people

believe that you just want to get high. But in reality all they are doing is
trying to improve their lives by taking their medication in order to live
productive lives.

Solution
We will never know the truth until we run these experiment and only then
are we able to judge what we should do with this plant.
Medical Marijuana is still a pretty new industry in the country and we
honestly dont know enough about it to say whether it should be illegal or
not. With your help and the help of your colleagues, I hope to accomplish
something groundbreaking. We might be able to change life as we know it
being able to cure cancer, epilepsy, and who knows what else. But we will
41 Fort Bayard Road,
Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

only be able
to
accomplish

this if you are

willing
help
out.
Even beyond its medicinal

to
us

potential, with extensive

research and use, a social transcendence is sure to ensue.

Citations

Corken, Izaak. "Bing." Images. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

Karnas, Skylar. "Bing." Images. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.
Garcia, John. "Bing." Images. 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us