Patient Starts 29th Year in Federal Medical Cannabis Program


by David Guard
{Fort Lauderdale, FL} — Irvin Rosenfeld is one of only four medical cannabis patients in the country that receive cannabis legally from the federal government.  Irv will celebrate his 28th anniversary in this unique program on Saturday, November 20, 2010.
Irv is a 57 year-old successful stockbroker from South Florida.  Irv uses medical cannabis to relieve chronic pain and muscle spasms caused by a rare bone disease. When he was 10, doctors discovered that his skeleton was riddled with more than 200 tumors, due to a condition known as Multiple Congenital Cartilaginous Exostosis.  Despite six operations, he still lives with scores of tumors in his bones.
After a long struggle with the federal government, Irv Rosenfeld won the right to access medical cannabis in 1982. Thirteen people with debilitating conditions were allowed into the Compassionate Investigative New Drug (IND) Program to receive federally-grown medical cannabis.  In 1992, President George Bush discontinued the program, but Irv still receives 9 ounces of cannabis rolled into cigarettes every 25 days from the federal government. The cannabis is grown by NIDA at the University of Mississippi.  Over the 29 years in the program, Irv has received more than 120,000 medical cannabis cigarettes and is in good health because of it.
Irv will be speaking about the federal program and his participation in it at KushCon2 in Denver, CO December 17-19, 2010.
Irv’s book is called “My Medicine: How I Convinced the Federal Government to Provide My Marijuana and Helped Launch a National Movement”.  Copies of the book may be purchased by visiting www.mymedicinethebook.com.  Proceeds from the book help to cover expenses while traveling to educate people about medical cannabis.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/trenches/2010/nov/19/patient_starts_29th_year_federal