FDA (Food & Drug Administration)

10903 New Hampshire Ave

Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
October 21, 2015

Project requesting assistance: Mary Isnt a Convict Program

Project help: Assistance in Documenting true effects of Medical Marijuana
Acting commissioner: Dr. Stephen Ostroff

Dear Dr. Ostroff,

I would like the FDAs help in proving whether marijuana has any beneficiary properties
or if it is correctly classified as a schedule one narcotic. In recent years there has been so much
discussion about its properties and whether or not it should be used as a medicine. There
definitely needs to be someone credible to end the discussion once and for all on whether we
should allow medical marijuana to be used or not.
As someone who has continuously worked alongside this program in New Mexico I have
seen how truly beneficial it can be to patients who use it as recommended. However, this is
different for every patient and it is hard for us to regulate how much to give to each patient.
One patient in particular who was my reasoning behind me working for this
department. When he was younger he was diagnosed with PTSD and thought he would never
be able to live a normal life until he started to get medicated. He was finally able to start living a
normal productive life going to work and not having any more problems.
I believe that this can change life as we know it, changing multiple lives if only the
government would allow it. This is why I come to you and ask for your help in order to
furthering this research.
Sincerely,
Alex Carrillo Director of New Mexico Health Department

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

Introduction
Along with a few other states, New Mexico was one of the first states to experiment with
medical marijuana. In July of 2007 we began sending out medical marijuana cards in the mail to
patients who qualified and could really benefit from it. At the time, Governor Bill Richardson
called it the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act after Lynn Pierson and Erin Armstrong, two
cancer patients who were proud advocates of medical marijuana.
Lynn and Erin were two respectable citizens who unfortunately got cancer, but instead of just
accepting their fate and waiting to die they decided to look for an alternative. Going through
extensive treatments and chemotherapy they were barely able to live normal lives. However,
they heard about how marijuana could ease their prolonging effects of chemotherapy and were
willing to try anything that would make them as productive as they used to be. After their next
chemotherapy session they consumed a little bit of cannabis and the effects were astonishing
they didnt feel sore and nauseous like they usually would, they were able to continue their
days without as much pain. Thankfully, Governor Bill Richardson was able to see that they were
using this substance as medicine to improve their lives.
Medical Marijuana can be a great asset to our society if we are willing to put in the time and
money in order to do the proper research and fully understand what we are dealing with. In the
last decade we have done a great amount of research and have had a few great breakthroughs.
This only includes a limited amount of states which are willing to take the risk legal
ramifications in order to bring their citizens some hope. Every time someone does research on
marijuana they are taking a risk of going to jail,
even if they state it has allowed them to do this
research, because it is still illegal in the federal
governments eyes.
A limited number of states have allowed their
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residents to participate in this research or
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lifestyle because they live in fear of the federal government.
California was where the
movement began and had the most dispensaries D70C2CBFE96DA&selectedindex=8&ccid=KCXrit%2BH&simid=60
and patients, it was a prosperous community
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for a while bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
That was until the federal government
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decided to raid a majority of the dispensaries in California and arrest the shop owners, charging
them with multiple felonies.

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

Problem
After the raid in California everyone that was even remotely related to the medical marijuana
industry was uncertain of what their future looked like. However this didnt seem to stop many
people, if anything this publicity made more people believe that marijuana was possibly a cure.
Going from having 8 states illegally providing their citizens to now 24 states illegally providing
their citizens with medical marijuana. This creates a huge problem because it turns regular
patients trying to get their medicine into criminals.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana/index.html
Many parents are willing to take these risks in order to help their children live healthier and
more productive lives then they wouldve otherwise. In one specific case a little girl was having
over 200 seizures a week and her parents didnt know what to do, she was supposed to die any
day and every seizure made the situation so much worse. Her parents had no idea what they
should do they had gone to over 10 different physicians and they had prescribe her over 50
different medications but nothing would help. The medication wasnt helping at all if anything it
was making things a lot worse, it started to have side effects and she began to hear voices in
her head.

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

Luckily for this little girl, her parents werent willing to give up on her and kept looking for
something that would help her out. They had heard of some other patients who were able to
stop having as many seizures by using THC. They began administrating a THC liquid hoping it
would have a positive effect. Her parents immediately noticed an improvement in their
daughter. She went from having close to 200 seizures a week to having less than 5 seizures. This
was the best medication they had ever given her, she was finally able to start having a normal
life that a child should.
This medication is helping their daughter live a normal and productive life but they now run the
risk of going to jail for giving their child illegal drugs. This is a terrible situation to be in because
they are trying to give their daughter the best life they possibly can, but in the governments
eyes they are doing something terrible and will be prosecuted for it.
This is just one situation, but there are hundreds of situations like this one. Their greatest
problem is that they are doing something illegal and can go to jail at any point. Even if someone
has their medical marijuana license they still run the risk of going to jail or getting in serious
trouble.
I have had many personal experiences with many licensed patients and they tell me that they
do not feel much safer than they did when they didnt have their license. One of my personal
friends has told me many of his personal experiences and I can understand where theyre
coming from.
My friend Robert has told me that his license does help him in times because hes allowed to
carry up to 8 ounces and if he ever was to get pulled over in the state of New Mexico he would
be perfectly fine. However the law only protects him inside of New Mexico if he was to go out
of the state he would get in serious trouble. His biggest fear is that the federal government will
decide to take action and arrest anyone with a medical license. This seems a little paranoid but
it makes sense because to the federal government they are doing something illegal. Another
problem my friend had was when he was living in the dorms at Casas Del Rio last year. He
would use his medicine in the bathroom and was doing everything right according to the law.
But one day UNMPD raided his dorm and took some of his smoking utensils and told him he
was only allowed one. Shortly after the manager evicted him from the dorms even though he
was doing everything legally. This is one of the problems with him having a medical card people

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

believe that you just want to get high. But in reality all they are doing is trying to improve their
lives by taking their medication in order to live productive lives.

Solution
We will never know the truth until we run these experiment and only then are we able to judge
what we should do with this plant. If it should be medicine or a drug is for you to decide, this
will have great effects for years to come.
Medical Marijuana is still a pretty new industry in the country and we honestly dont know
enough about it to say whether it should be illegal or not. With your help and the help of your
colleagues, I hope to accomplish something groundbreaking. We might be able to change life as
we know it being able to cure cancer, epilepsy, and who knows what else. But we will only be
able to accomplish this if you are willing to help us out. Even beyond its medicinal potential,
with extensive research and use, a social transcendence is sure to ensue.
I am asking for $100,000 dollars to get everything started here in New Mexico. I will need this
amount in order to purchase a facility, get supplies, and fly in the best team from across the
country. I plan to start working on this project as soon as possible, so we can hopefully find a
cure.

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us

Citations

Corken, Izaak. "Bing." Images. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

Karnas, Skylar. "Bing." Images. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.
Garcia, John. "Bing." Images. 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana/index.html

41 Fort Bayard Road,

Santa Clara, NM 88026

505-827-2321

medical.cannabis@state.nm.us