Peter McWilliams: Difference between revisions

In [[1996]] McWilliams was diagnosed with both [[cancer]] and [[AIDS]].  Subsequently, he was required to take a lot of pills--14 different medications.  But like many cancer patients, Peter was unable to keep his pills down to stay alive due to intense nausea, thereby rendering the pills useless.  His 15th drug, an antinausea medication, wasn't working.  So, instead, he began taking marijuana.  Like many other cancer patients, smoking marijuana relieved the intense nausea and also soothed the constant pain he was in, allowing him keep his pills down and stay alive.

The [[Federal government]] has decided that smoking marijuana, even for medical purposes, is a [[victimless crime|crime]].  In [[1998]], McWilliams was arrested for violating the Federal marijuana law.  The judge prohibited him from pointing-out that medical marijuana is legal in California, which was his only defense.

In [[2000]], he lost the case.  No longer allowed to use marijuana, his pain and nausea returned, and he once again couldn't keep his medicine down.  He subsequently died a couple weeks later on Wednesday, June 14, 2000, reportedly choking on his own vomit.