Kidney patient taken off transplant list for using medical marijuana

A kidney patient in Maine was taken off the transplant list he'd been waiting on since 2003 because he uses medical marijuana. The kidney patient, Garry Godfrey, has a painful debilitating condition called Alport Syndrome, which can cause renal failure ontop of nausea and anxiety. A spokesperson for the Maine Medical Center claims that marijuana use is being blacklisted from transplantees due to the risk of a fungal infection. If all marijuana was tested for such fungi, like a properly regulated substance, then would marijuana be in question for transplantees in the first place? Once again, the prohibition of marijuana seems to cause everyone more trouble than the drug itself does.

Garry Godfrey has Alport Syndrome, a hereditary disease which causes renal failure at a young age. He says it also causes debilitating pain, nausea and anxiety.

"I've tried so many pharmaceuticals and none of them worked, but the medical cannabis does,” Godfrey said. “It helps me function. It helps me take care of my kids."

Godfrey says he needs a new kidney and was put on Maine Medical Center's transplant list in 2003. In 2010, Maine Med adopted a new policy.