STUDENTS USE MARIJUANA TO TREAT HEALTH PROBLEMS

Junkie, loser, hippie and pothead are just a few of the names that
medical marijuana users fear being called. Even with the stereotypes,
ordinary people suffering from a variety of illnesses are being
treated with marijuana to help them function in everyday life.

The consequences for being treated with this controversial drug can
often outweigh the help it provides.

Medical marijuana, or cannabis, has more than half a million patients
across the country. A number of patients happen to be attending
college, and Bakersfield College is no exception. A few cannabis
patients agreed to be interviewed but wished not to have their real
names used for fear of persecution and scrutiny.

Cindi has been an active student at BC, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. A
mother of three, she has had to battle severe medical problems, such
as osteoporosis, arthritis, fibromyalgia and insomnia. She said she
took a variety of medications, including regular injections that
caused bad reactions.

"I was getting trigger points of cortisone, which is a shot," Cindi
said. "When a physician's assistant gave me the injection, it
punctured my lung, causing it to collapse."

Cindi sought other forms of treatment, which led her to cannabis. It
helped control the pain that kept her from eating and being unable to
function normally.

She hates being stereotyped and prefers to be called a "cannabis
medicator" as opposed to "pothead."

Laws regarding medicinal marijuana have been left up to the states to
decide, but it's still illegal under federal law. California is one of
a handful of states that allows medicinal marijuana use.

Tiffany suffers from scoliosis and has been using cannabis treatment
for some time. However, despite having her Medicinal Marijuana Card,
her foster daughter was taken from her by the courts, who ruled that
the child was in "immediate danger."

"Saying she was in immediate danger was the only way they could take
her," Tiffany said. "The judged ruled that I was taking 'illegal' drugs."

Child Protective Services recognized Tiffany's legal right to use
cannabis and allowed her to keep her other children. Her lawyer claims
that her civil rights had been violated. She must now quit using
cannabis to pass a drug test in order to get her foster daughter
returned to her.

Patients with more mild conditions suffer the same hurdles as any
other cannabis user. Kyle is a math major working on his general
education requirements while holding an office in the Student
Government Association. Suffering from back pain and tension
headaches, he uses medical marijuana and is even a caretaker for other
cannabis patients.

In late January, Kyle said he gave a friend a lift to the southwest
parking lot. As they were parking, a Campus Security officer caught
him cleaning out a pipe. He also had a small amount of marijuana. A
Campus Security report for Jan. 25 said that a glass pipe with burned
marijuana was also found in the center console of the vehicle.

"I was handcuffed and told not to resist," Kyle said. "I only had my
permit for being a caregiver and not a patient, so they called the
Bakersfield Police Department and I got charged with
possession."

Kyle faced expulsion but had the charges dropped to suspension
instead. He was also forced to resign from his office at SGA and is no
longer eligible for financial aid. His suspension report showed that
he had violated BC's "Standards of Student Conduct" policy.

"Pot is still considered a controlled substance, it collides with the
campus laws," said Dean of Student Services Don Turney.

The policy states that a student can be suspended due to "the use,
sale, possession or being under the influence of alcohol or any other
controlled substance prohibited by law, on campus or at any function
sponsored or supervised by the College."

Students have to comply with both state and federal laws making it
illegal for them to carry any form of marijuana on campus. Unless
students can propose a new policy to be placed under consideration for
legislature, all cannabis patients can be faced with expulsion if
caught with their medication.

"This is my medicine," Cindi said. "Please don't take my medicine from
me."