PORTLAND, Maine — A terminally ill New Hampshire woman who won a court's permission to get a medical marijuana card received her medication in Maine Friday.
New Hampshire passed a law that allows patients with certain conditions to use medical marijuana, but no dispensaries have opened yet. Supporters of medical marijuana say the case is an important step toward increasing access and giving terminal patients more options for end of life care.
Linda Horan, 64, was beaming Friday afternoon at the Wellness Connection of Maine's Portland dispensary. She had just picked up some cannabis tinctures, capsules and cookies to help treat symptoms associated with her lung cancer.
"My god, I'm over the moon," she says. "Completely over the moon."
After Horan was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer last July, she wanted to use medical marijuana to help relieve some of her pain and anxiety. She's also worried about the weight she's losing. She has dropped from 100 pounds to ninety.
"My 13-year-old granddaughter weighs a little more than I do today," she says.
Horan can't get medical marijuana in New Hampshire. Despite a 2013 law that authorized its use, no dispensaries have opened yet. And until recently, Horan couldn't go to a neighboring state to purchase medical marijuana because she didn't have the necessary ID card from New Hampshire.
Becky DeKeuster, co-founder of The Wellness Connection of Maine, says that card is essential.
"It's not just about accessing medicine in another state, it's about having legal protection in your home state to be in possession of your medicine as well," she says.
In November, Horan took the state of New Hampshire to court.
The state argued that issuing a medical marijuana ID card to Horan before dispensaries were open would affect its ability to control drug distribution. But Horan argued she may not be alive by the time New Hampshire dispensaries are up and running.
A judge ruled in her favor, which paved the way for her to purchase medical marijuana in Maine. DeKeuster says it's an honor to help Horan.
"It's so important to remember that these medical cannabis programs, regulations aside — and they're important, but they need to be in service of the patient," she says.
DeKeuster says the potential for medical marijuana to help patients with a terminal illness is huge.
Kandyce Powell of the Hospice Council of Maine agrees that medical marijuana is a treatment worth exploring.
"We have always felt that any options that are out there that are appropriate and available to patients for purposes of pain and symptom management should be considered after a thorough assessment," she says.
Powell says there is a level of discomfort, however, with the fact that medical marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.
"And because Medicare is a federal reimbursement mechanism, and because a lot of hospice patients, their reimbursement comes through Medicare, there's an inherent conflict still in that whole dynamic," she says.
In New Hampshire, at least, Horan's case is opening doors for other patients. This week, New Hampshire's attorney general directed the Department of Health and Human Services to issue medical marijuana cards to other eligible patients.
Horan says from the beginning, the case was about more than just her.
"And whatever is good for me is good for every qualifying patients in the state, and that's what we hoped to achieve in the beginning," she says.
DeKeuster says Horan's court case comes at the beginning of a wave of patients with terminal illnesses who are advocating for more access to medical marijuana.
Powell says anecdotal evidence that supports medical marijuana is compelling. But as the push for access grows, so does the need for more research and data.
