Julie Falco receives MPP Outstanding Patient Advocate Award

Message from Julie:

I am so happy to share the events of the recent Gala I attended in Washington DC, on January 13, 2010.

I had quite an amazing time at the 15th anniversary celebration of MPP’s (Marijuana Policy Project’s) themed extravaganza called “15 States in 15 Years.”

When MPP was founded in 1995, medical cannabis was illegal in all 50 states. Since then, 14 states have legalized medical cannabis, with Michigan becoming the 13th state, and the first Midwestern state in November 2008. More recently, New Jersey became the 14th medical cannabis state on the January 11th, the Monday prior to this event! So there was a lot to celebrate!

Dan Linn, my friend and the Executive Director of Illinois NORML, accompanied me to the Gala. We had a fun, easy plane ride as were reseated from Coach to Economy class. It was a crammed seat plane with 3 seats on either side of one aisle, and Economy seats provided us about 4" of spacious knee room. It wasn't a full flight either, so Dan and I sat comfortably with an empty seat between us. We arrived at the DC airport with just a few hours until the festivities were to begin. After checking into the hotel and rearranging the furniture to accommodate my funky mobility style, there was time for a brief rest before we started to ready into cocktail attire.

Thankfully the event was being held in the ballroom of the hotel we were staying so we didn't have to put on any winter wear to go to another location. It was a short elevator ride from the fifth floor to the ballroom downstairs.

As soon as we rolled up to the check-in table we were greeted by several MPP organizers. It was really nice to finally put faces to all the dot .org monikers I’m familiar with from our email communications. They were all genuinely grateful that I was able to make it to the event. They truly were so excited they kept saying I was like a rock star around the office. Rock on!

We entered a smaller reception room where there was a live jazz band playing while guests were mingling with cocktails. Dan wheeled me to a less trafficked area so we could observe and get acclimated to the atmosphere. To my right was a small table that housed Cheech & Chong and their devoted entourage. To my left, I said hello to Karen O'Keefe, MPP's Director of State Policies. We shared adjacent rooms and a strange Midwestern Thai food experience in Springfield last May, during the awareness push in the House of Representatives. We had fun ringing my bicycle bell in the tunnels of the Capitol. I would have her let go of my wheelchair so I could go really fast down the empty ramp to feel freedom in my hair.

Steph Sherer, the Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access in California, excitedly swooped down next to my chair to say hello. We have worked together in the past, though I haven't seen her in a number of years. She helped me with the application process to gain access to the Federal Government’s Compassionate IND (Investigational New Drug) program, so that I could acquire the cannabis spray Sativex that had just become available in Canada for MS patients, to which I never received a response. It was terrific to see Steph again, and we vowed to hook up later to talk. The pace of the evening swept us in different directions though, and we were unable to reconnect.

The lights began fading on and off pretty non-stop as the hotel staff began the herding process into the ballroom for dinner. I was guided to table #4, which was the front row of tables, and it had only four empty seats left, the rest were already filled. The seats that were left would put my back to the podium, and sitting in a wheelchair would cause me to obtain a wicked cricked neck. The music was so loud that I asked Dan if he could ask, either of two women that were facing the podium, if they would mind switching seats. I felt badly to split them up and apologized for the disruption, though when I got positioned the woman I sat next to was excited that she got to sit next to an award recipient besides her father. How sweet.

Up until sitting at the table I truly was under the impression that I was one of a few patients and advocates receiving awards! However, upon opening the program I see it was Dr. McSherry, a neurologist from Vermont, Cheech & Chong, and me! Just us three getting awards! What a surprise!

There were many unexpected surprises that evening. I did not expect the approximately 300 or so people there; I did not expect that the table I was at was about 8 feet from the loudspeaker unfortunately, so I had a loud speaker in my ear most of the night. (Thank goodness for noise canceling headphones to buffer some of those high end vibrations). I again, did not expect the surprise that I was the only patient advocate being honored that night!

I sat at the same table as Dr. Joseph McSherry, from Burlington, and his family. Dr. McSherry was one of two physicians to serve on the Medical Cannabis Study Commission, established by the Vermont legislature in 2002. His support and testimony helped VT become the 9th medical cannabis state in 2004. Even after success in his home state, Dr. McSherry continues advocating patients’ rights to use medical cannabis, in New Hampshire, Iowa, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.

A dandelion salad arrived at the table as Don Murphy, the master of ceremonies, began talking. He's a Republican consultant and former state legislator. After his reelection in 1998, he became an unlikely advocate for Medical Cannabis legislation as a result of being approached by a Green Beret constituent who was dying of cancer. The passage of the Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act in 2003 placed Mr. Murphy in exclusive company with substantial national media recognition.

I had a glass of red wine to help quell the shivery tremors that were surfacing. I devoured the entree of salmon snuggled in a bed of vegetables. It was quite good, and I was very hungry from our travels. The banding escalated around my torso and I started to overload from the speaker volume. After I hurriedly ate, Dan wheeled me out of the room until I was to speak. From the doorway at the back of the ballroom, we listened to remarks from former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who said that the biggest problem with cannabis is that it's illegal. The libertarian-minded Republican said outright that cannabis should be legalized and that prohibition is the real problem.

We also listened to Tennessee Representative Steve Cohen, a longtime advocate for legalizing medical cannabis for people with chronic illnesses, Cohen stated that his own campaign polls showed nearly 3-1 support for medical cannabis. "And that's in Memphis," he said. "This is an issue that's important. It's a freedom issue. It's an intelligence issue. ... I'm proud to be here." He also threw in some marketing advice for the crowd, "If you renamed marijuana something like Jack Daniel's or Jim Beam, it'd be a lot more popular," Cohen said. "You need to get a good name for it" (Amen to that).

Before the end of Rep. Cohen’s speech, Dan wheeled me back to the side doors leading up to the podium. Since I thought I was giving a brief acceptance speech, I didn't prepare to speak at length so it was going to be off the cuff. Though, it does seem to be when I do the best speaking, allowing for that universal flow to move through me. I humbly sat in my wheelchair as Dan gave a moving introduction. He started off the bat with the language issue by saying, “Julie does not use marijuana! She only uses cannabis!” Well that answered that question for me…. we will be talking about this tonight after all, ha ha ha.

I chuckled at my hesitancy to bring up the language issue during this event, I mean, they were honoring me with an award… the Marijuana Policy Project was giving me an award. Do I really want to discuss the language issue at this particular time? With Cheech & Chong having made a living from using marijuana sitting right below the podium, staring up at me? Well, all I could do was chuckle as I moved into the flow of the moment and said, “Ok…. Yes… we are discussing this tonight! Here we go!”

I shimmied my way to the podium so that I could stand before the crowd. It was all a blur when I got up there, really it was, as I looked at the photos someone took on my camera! I was bathed in colors with angels all around me. In the blur I remember speaking of the language, and how the “M” word gets in the way of a real conversation about health and wellness, cannabinoids and neuroprotection.

I recall acknowledging New Jersey’s successful bill passage and DC being able to unblock an amendment that prevented a medical cannabis initiative from being implemented 11 years ago. Just a few weeks ago, in late December, Congress passed, and President Barack Obama signed, a spending bill that made no mention of the restrictive amendment. Now the DC Council will finally be able to send the initiative to Congress for their approval, which is part of the implementation process. If all goes well, there may be a medical cannabis law in DC by this spring. MPP was part of this process of course, and there was charged celebratory energy in the air.

I reminded everyone to remember Jonathon Magbie in their celebrations. He was a fellow DC resident who died in 2004 while incarcerated in a Washington DC jail. He was serving a ten day sentence because he told a judge that he would not stop using cannabis. See, at age four he was struck by a drunk driver while exiting a school bus. The accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, stunting his growth and relegating him to a chin-operated wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was 24-years old and he smoked cannabis to ease the painful symptoms of his paralysis. I told the crowd that it was because of Jonathon that I did not hide behind a pseudonym when I decided to speak out about cannabis back in 2004. I made the decision to step out and say, “I am Julie Falco and I use medical cannabis.”

It’s a bit fuzzy on what else was said, however I was surprised to receive a standing ovation after I was done. The energy was electric. I awkwardly hot potatoed the acrylic award, and moved back to my sturdy carriage.

Dan and I wheeled back to our table and listened to Dr. McSherry's acceptance speech where he commented, "..... I'm happy that some of my friends that I've met ...are like Julie, they have multiple sclerosis and 10 years later they are doing much better than they ought to statistically. And that's because, I believe, they use a lot of marijuana. (Chuckles proceeded in the audience amongst our own supporters!) McSherry continued by stating, “...No, really, it's seriously a great anti-inflammatory drug. There was just an article last week about a particular kind of multiple sclerosis that's associated with different cannabinoid receptors genetically, in the patient, that predisposes them potentially for getting the disease. So, the science is there, it's not again coming from the United States....."

Cheech and Chong received the Trailblazer award for bringing cannabis culture to the masses. They were quite comical and fun in their acceptance speech. Tommy Chong got reflective at one point and said, "...the lady with MS was right. They use the word marijuana to demonize pot, you know. That's why they did it, that's why they still do it. That's why it's weird, you know, when you try to have a conversation with people about Marry.Juan.AH, that's the first thing that comes to their mind, they're conditioned, you know."

A women sitting at our table came over to me. Over the din I heard her say some nice things, and how she would like to do a feature story. She handed me her card before she left. It said, Dev Meyers, Pittsburgh Neighborhood History Examiner, with Cannabis Revolution written underneath. During the closing remarks, Don Murphy mentioned my speech and the language thing again, stating that MPP could consider changing their name or adding a sub name to read, MPP, Most People Protected. Wow! This language thing really had people talking. Thanks Dan for “setting the stage!”

As people started to clear out of the ballroom I lagged behind to let the crowd lessen. The hotel staff started clearing tables and Dan and I stayed where we were as a steady stream of people came up to us to chat. Quite a few people were moved to tears by my speech. A few women told me they had MS or knew of friends and family that have MS and were inspired by what I said. Since it was such a blur for me I'm glad it was received so well. I was able to easily let go of the replay in my head as I thought of things I didn't get to say or clarify. After Dan and I were the last ones in the room, I looked at him and said, "What just happened?" He said, "Well, you met a book editor, a magazine editor, and a TV producer to name a few."

We headed to the lobby bar to debrief and collect ourselves. While Dan was at the bar he met a woman that used to work for Oprah and now works for Bill Kurtis, the current host of A&E’s news documentary shows, Cold Case Files and American Justice. Dan told her how I was bummed that Montel Williams wasn't able to attend. I wished to meet him and ask what happened on Oprah last season. She did a whole show with him, discussing his multiple sclerosis and the many medications that he takes. Never once was it mentioned how he benefits from medical cannabis though. The woman at the bar said that Oprah has a really big issue with drugs that stems from things she experienced personally in her past. Well, that made me feel like contacting her even more now, to tell a different story.

We talked with a few more people as we made our way back to our rooms. The tightness around the abdomen felt like Rocky Balboa used it for a punching bag, and it felt really good to lie down. I ended up sleeping on the floor because it was another Princess and the Pea bed that I had difficulty navigating in or out of, so we laid out the blankets and pillows for a makeshift futon bed. It was about 1am as we said goodnight.