Fighting Big Pharma

Everyone likes to tout that America is the Home of the Brave and the Land of the Free. Sadly, I've learned an incredibly difficult lesson after having a medically complex child that those words are untrue at best.

When we look to our Legislators and share the hardships our family and most importantly, my son has had to endure, we hope that those in a leadership role will stand up and take notice, listen and make changes for those who elected them to be our voice in Legislature.

When we hear people talk of freedom and how lucky we are, they know nothing of the fight that families like mine face. My family is not free. My son is not free. We are not able to give him a medicine that is a PLANT because Big Pharma rules our country with an iron fist.

For the families that battle this fight out at the Capitols in every single state across this nation there are huge chain hospitals and pharmaceutical giants that pay politicians big bucks to side with them vs the families living desperately within their own state.

Iowa is no different. We are fighting tooth and nail and telling our stories only to be told the lawmakers "don't want to base their vote on emotion". So, we take them facts and research to prove that cannabis as medicine is nothing new and that there are plenty of research documents to support that. But alas, facts do not sway them either.

Instead, they listen to anti-drug propagandists who get their information from places like the American Epilepsy Society who would MUCH RATHER have your child suffer the dire consequences of pharmaceutical drugs than allow them the use of a single plant.  Why do you think that is? Could it possibly be because of the MONEY INVOLVED? Hmmm... the MILLIONS OF DOLLARS spent at supporting an "Annual Meeting" by BIG PHARMA screams a mighty loud YES.

So how is it that our lawmakers can claim they care about our medically complex Iowans? Many refuse to listen to our stories, many encourage us to break state and federal law anyway (because if it were their child - that's what they would do) and many refuse to meet with us or hear our stories at all. Some even have the audacity to tell parents of sick children that they aren't doing enough for thier child and that the need to relocate to another state.  Ironic that the people that CAN make the change and have the power to do so, won't stand up and do the right thing. 

I have called every single House Republican only to get a handful of return calls. I have written every single House Member numerous  and have only gotten a handful of responses. Many of the ones who respond don't care about my story because I'm not a constituent, yet they sit on committees where their votes count for Iowa as a STATE, so how they have that disconnect of humanity is beyond me. Many of them tell me that cannabis needs more research or ask how we know if it's safe. So, I sent them the lab reports of my son's cannabis oil along with his medical records from Mayo and I don't hear back. Real Life Proof and Living Examples of Positive Change are still NOT ENOUGH.

This isn't about quality of life here in Iowa. This is about money and who has the most to pay off the people in order to tell them what to think. Instead of listening to facts and proof that WORLD REKNOWN HOSPITALS support cannabis as medicine, they listen to propagandists spewing tired old 1980's anti-drug propaganda.

Meanwhile, the prescription drug problem in our country is at an all time high but everyone still wants to push more big pharma?  My son deserves a quality of life from an ORGANIC PLANT made by a person who cares about my son's life and NOT made by a giant corporation who can donate $100,000 to have a third party speak for them.  This all makes me SICK.