Search Results: lewis-mcchord (1)

Photo: Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian
Spc. Richelle Golden got a doctor’s authorization to legally use medical marijuana — and her caregiver was her former Guard commander. But, apparently in a cynical attempt to deny her retirement benefits, she faces a court-martial anyway.

Spc. Richelle Golden of the Oregon Army National Guard suffers from two incredibly painful autoimmune diseases. ​When she got to Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington state back in February, she arrived in a wheelchair, expecting to stay a few weeks and be medically retired from service. She immediately reported that she legally used cannabis to combat pain and nausea, and produced her Oregon medical marijuana card.

Now it’s five months later, and Golden is still at Joint Base Lewis-McChord facing court-martial, caught between the laws of her home state, which allow medicinal marijuana use with a doctor’s authorization, and the U.S. Army, which forbids it under any circumstances, reports Julie Sullivan at The Oregonian.