We don't need any REAL fixes for our medical system... right? ... Do we? hm.

In addition to his great talent and a girlfriend who loves him dearly, Timothy Garon also has hepatitis C. Without a new liver, he has days to live. Right now, his death is assured because the transplant committee  at the University of Washington Medical Center has refused to add Tim to the transplant list because he uses medical marijuana to ease his discomfort, medical marijuana which was prescribed by his physician.

   "I'm not angry, I'm not mad, I'm just confused," said Garon, lying in his hospital bed a few minutes after a doctor told him the hospital transplant committee's decision Thursday.

-Salon

Many transplant committees automatically reject patients who use "illicit substances." The transplant committee  at the University of Washington Medical Center reviewed Garon's application at the request of his lawyer and denied it a second time.

   "Everyone agrees that marijuana is the least habit-forming of all the recreational drugs, including alcohol," Gieringer said. "And unlike a lot of prescription medications, it's nontoxic to the liver."

--Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for the California chapter of NORML

I think it's time to kick up a fuss and save this man's life, don't you? Personally, I'm not sure where to begin and I want to post this diary as soon as possible. I'll amend it to add your suggestions. Hundreds of thousands of people visit this site every day. Most of them are activists. Let's figure out what to do about this together (please recommend this diary if you think the cause is worthy).

So what are we going to do, people?

...... Problem is... Tim died yesterday.

Tim Garon lies in his hospital bed as his girlfriend, Leisa Bueno, leans over to give him a kiss while they wait to hear if he will be put on a transplant list on Thursday, April 24, 2008, in Seattle.

By Associated Press
http://www.komotv.com/news/18475224.html
SEATTLE (AP) - A musician who was denied a liver transplant because he used marijuana with medical approval under Washington state law to ease the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C died Thursday.

The death of Timothy Garon, 56, at Bailey-Boushay House, an intensive care nursing center was confirmed to The Associated Press by his lawyer, Douglas Hiatt, and Alisha Mark, a spokeswoman for Virginia Mason Medical Center, which operates Bailey-Boushay.

Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to smoke pot to alleviate for nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant.

...

Garon died a week after his doctor told him a University of Washington Medical Center committee had again denied him a spot on the liver transplant list because of his use of marijuana, although it was authorized under Washington state law.

more here:
http://www.komotv.com/news/18475224.html

Contacts for the people that turned Tim Garon down at UW Medical.

Please be respectful in all of your communications and mindful that some of these phone lines are primarily for patients and their providers.

UW Medical Center
Switchboard: 206-598-3300

Transplant Services - Heart, Kidney, Liver, Lung (UWMC)
General Contact (Phone): (206) 598-6700

Robert Carithers, Jr., MD
Director, Hepatology Section, Department of Medicine
Professor of Medicine
Medical Director, Liver Transplant Program UWMC
doctorc@u.washington.edu
P: 206-598-4956
F: 206-598-3884

If anyone has the info for Swedish Medical Center, I will update to include them also.