Woman with terminal cancer jailed due to medication in her system

[True Dough]

Way to go, Kansas! Now this woman will miss her next chemo appointment.

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A grandmother with terminal cancer is in the Sedgwick County Jail because of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in her system while she was driving.

But the THC was in her system because it is in a medication her pharmacist says she needs in order to eat while on chemotherapy. Angela Kastner has colorectal cancer. KAKE News spoke with her Tuesday night, right before she reported to jail for a 48-hour sentence. She's in jail as a result of a DUI, although she had nothing to drink.

"I had ... Marinol in my system that the doctors in Oklahoma gave me to fight cancer. I've been fighting cancer 5 years," Kastner said.

Marinol is an FDA approved medication for cancer patients. It helps them keep down food. It's a synthetic form of THC, but it's legal. According to her pharmacist, the amount of THC in her blood is not enough to make anyone high. The time Kastner will spend in jail will force her to miss a chemo session, which will force her to restart her whole regimen. Her doctor is not happy.

http://www.kake.com/story/35335390/woman-with-terminal-cancer-jailed-over-medication-in-her-system

[jpak]

1. Laaaaaaw an' odah

yup

[DURHAM D]

2. Link?

ETA: This would never happen to a white male.

[True Dough]

3. Sorry about that...

http://www.kake.com/story/35335390/woman-with-terminal-cancer-jailed-over-medication-in-her-system

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. If that were my family member, I would be finding a very aggressive lawyer.

Cannabis metabolites can tell if anything WAS in the system, not if they are using today.
and obviously medical marijuana should be an exception.