Robin Twomey |
Irv Rosenfeld has received 300 joints a month from the U.S. federal government for 29 years. |
The federal government of the United States has been telling its citizens for years that marijuana has no medical value. And the federal government is lying — according to the federal government.
It’s enough to make your head explode, but that’s the way things are in Drug War America. A handful of seriously ill patients have received free medical marijuana from the U.S. federal government for almost 30 years, even as that same government says cannabis is a Schedule I drug with a high potential for abuse and no known medicinal applications.
The existence of Irvin Rosenfeld and the other three surviving federal medical marijuana patients in the U.S. puts the lie to the official government position. These patients are part of the Compassionate Investigative New Drug program, which unfortunately hasn’t accepted any new enrollees since the first Bush Administration, due to political pressure.
Portsmouth, Virginia native Rosenfeld, who now lives in Florida, has been smoking 10 to 12 joints of marijuana every day for more than 28 years — a grand total of more than 123,000 joints. But rather than adopting the attitude of “I got mine” and being afraid to speak out for the rights of other patients, Irv — who uses marijuana to treat severe bone disorder called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis — has bravely chosen the path of public advocacy.
Andrew Itkoff/USA Today |
Irv Rosenfeld smokes marijuana in his car during a work break from his stockbroker job. (His office shares a building with the local DEA headquarters.) |
”As patients and providers, we need to always put our best effort into showing cannabis in a respectable manner,” Rosenfeld said. “While I am not against any use of this plant, my battle for the last 40 years has been for patients and trying my best to educate others of its medical use.”
Cannabis works for Irv as a muscle relaxant, as an anti-inflammatory, as an analgesic, and has kept his tumors — which he has on the ends of most long bones of his body — from growing for more than 37 years, according to Rosenfeld.
Rosenfeld takes marijuana smoke breaks from his stockbroker job several times a day, smoking in his car in the parking lot.
His office shares a building with the regional headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration, but Irv has nothing to fear from the federal government — because that’s where he gets his weed.
MyMedicineTheBook.com |
Irv tells his story in the book My Medicine: How I Convinced the U.S. Government To Provide My Marijuana and Helped Launch a National Movement, available at www.mymedicinethebook.com.
You can view a one-minute promotional video about the book there, and the e-book version is .
Rosenfeld, who has appeared in hundreds of news stories all over the world, will be telling his unique story on a Colorado book tour November 16-20.
On the night of November 19, Irv and his guests will be having an anniversary party celebrating his 29 years of receiving “meds from the Feds,” according to booking agent Hiedi Handford.
If you would like Rosenfeld to visit your place of business in the Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs or Northeastern areas, you can contact Handford at [email protected] or call 720-326-6577 for booking information.
The following facilities and dates have already been booked:
Wednesday, November 16, Denver:
5-6:30 p.m., ACT 4 CO, 303-355-4378
Thursday, November 17, Boulder:
12-1:30 p.m., Boulder Kind Care, 2031 16th Street
Friday, November 18, Colorado Springs:
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Cannabis Therapeutics, 907 E. Filmore, 719-633-7124
1-2:30 p.m., Natural Mystic Cannabis Care, 416 E. Colorado Ave., Suite 101
3-4:30 p.m., Bijou Wellness Center, 2132 E. Bijou Street #114, 719-465-2407
5-6:30 p.m., 2815 #D N. El Paso Street, 719-344-5021
7-9 p.m., Dinner Party, Warehouse Restaurant, 25 W. Cimarron Ave.
Saturday, November 19, Denver:
12-1:30 p.m., The Giving Tree, 2707 W. 38th Ave.
2-3:30 p.m., Lotus Medical, 1444 Wazee Street #15
4-5:30 p.m., BotanaCare, 11450 Cherokee Street, Unit A7, Northglenn, CO
Sunday, November 20, Denver:
12-1:30 p.m., Alternative Wellness Center, 2647 W. 38th Ave.
2-3:30 p.m., Patients Plus, 4493 N. Washington Street
4-6 p.m., iVita Wellness, 1660 Pearl Street