Safer Deals: The Patients — Federal Medical Marijuana Patient Speaks Out

LAKE PALESTINE, Texas George McMahon is no pothead. However, for the last 16 years, marijuana is the only thing that has kept him alive.

While some might find this hard to believe, McMahon cannot imagine why. To him, it is just medicine. “How many people take insulin to treat the symptoms of diabetes?” he wonders. “Same thing for me. I take this medicine to treat the symptoms of my disease.”

Since he was a child, McMahon has been just a little bit different from everybody else.

“I have a slight genetic difference,” he explained during an interview on August 18, 2006. “I have what’s called Nail Patella Syndrome. It is a genetic disorder. I was born in 1950, and back then, well, we weren’t as intelligent as we are now. As a kid I would be playing baseball, and when I ran from first base to second base, my leg might fracture. Or if I caught the ball, I’d break a couple fingers. I was constantly in pain.”

McMahon recounted how he was given alcohol as a child to help him gain weight, having been born an unusually small child:

“They gave me all kinds of stuff to help treat the disorder, and a lot of times they didn’t even know all that much about the drug they were giving me. So, anything that is new or cutting edge, they’d just shove it down my throat and see what happened. Because of that, I’ve had to deal with a lot of addiction problems, especially with drugs like morphine. It has made me very, very sensitive to opiates, but they never have their intended effect on me.”

Nail Patella Syndrome (NPS) is described by WebMD.com as:

“a rare genetic disorder that is usually apparent at birth or during early childhood. Although the symptoms and physical characteristics associated with NPS may vary, characteristic abnormalities tend to include improper development (dysplasia) of the fingernails and toenails; absence (aplasia) and/or underdevelopment (hypoplasia) of the knee caps (patellae); underdevelopment of certain bones and/or webbing of skin at the bend of the elbow(s); and/or abnormal projections of bone from the upper (superior) portion of both sides of the hipbone (bilateral iliac horns).”

In addition, some individuals within certain families (kindreds) may have abnormally increased fluid pressure of the eyes (glaucoma). The condition results due to progressive blockage of the outflow of fluid (aqueous humor) from the front chamber of the eyes (open-angle glaucoma). Without appropriate treatment, the gradual increase in fluid pressure may cause increased narrowing of visual fields and eventual blindness. Other eye (ocular) abnormalities may also be associated with NPS. For example, in some affected individuals, the inner margin (pupillary margin) of the colored portion of the eyes (irides) may appear abnormally dark (hyperpigmentation) and ‘cloverleaf shaped’ (Lester iris).

Approximately 30 to 40 percent of individuals with NPS may also develop abnormalities in kidney function (nephropathy) that may be apparent during childhood or later in life. Nail-patella Syndrome is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait.”

Because of this disease, George is given 300 marijuana cigarettes every month, courtesy of t