John Roe

Summary of the Affidavit of John Roe (Fictitious Name)

State of Wisconsin – Circa 1976–77

Affiant: A 22-year-old university student diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma at the age of 8 (in 1962).

Medical History:

• Began conventional treatment immediately following diagnosis, which included routine anti-glaucoma medications.

• Despite treatment, experienced gradual loss of vision over the next 14 years.

  • Current visual acuity:

    • Left eye: 20/200 (corrected).

    • Right eye: 20/20 (corrected), though damage present.

• In 1970, began using marijuana socially and noticed a reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP).

Therapeutic Use of Marijuana:

• Marijuana was self-administered to manage IOP and the side effects of conventional medications, including:

  • Migraine-like headaches

  • Blurred vision

• Current regimen:

  • Pilocarpine and epinephrine, combined with 6–10 marijuana cigarettes per day.

  • Marijuana use is daily and consistent since 1970.

• Last IOP measured at 21–22 mm Hg, indicating effective disease control.

• Physician:

  • Acknowledges marijuana's utility informally.

  • Provides guidance on glaucoma management.

  • Would prescribe cannabis if legally permitted.

Quality of Life:

• Reports no significant side effects from long-term marijuana use.

• Cannabis has not interfered with education or daily functioning.

• In fact, it has enabled academic participation and a stable life by offsetting the vision loss and medication side effects.

Legal and Access Concerns:

• Primarily grows his own cannabis but sometimes must resort to street purchases, highlighting lack of safe/legal access.

Key Points of Significance:

1. Early Childhood Diagnosis: John Roe represents a case of pediatric-onset glaucoma, managed into adulthood with increasing reliance on cannabis as conventional therapies failed to provide adequate control.

2. Patient Autonomy and Innovation: Roe independently discovered and documented the therapeutic benefit of marijuana—prior to any formal guidance or government-sanctioned programs—demonstrating early patient-led medical cannabis experimentation.

3. Clinical Validation: While informal, his physician acknowledged the efficacy of marijuana, reinforcing the growing body of medical testimony during the Randall era that supported cannabis as a viable treatment for glaucoma.

4. Stable Disease Progression: The affidavit documents long-term stability of glaucoma and quality of life attributed in large part to cannabis—undermining federal arguments that marijuana was not “accepted” or effective as medicine.

5. Legal Jeopardy: Roe’s need to obtain cannabis from illicit sources underlines the criminal risk patients faced, even when acting under physician guidance for life-altering or vision-saving conditions.

6. Policy Implications: The affidavit bolsters arguments for:

   • Compassionate medical cannabis access

   • Physician rights to recommend/prescribe

   • Legal protections for patients cultivating their own supply when no lawful access exists

Footnotes and Citations:

1. Randall, Robert C., and Alice O’Leary. Marijuana Rx: The Patients’ Fight for Medicinal Pot. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1998.

2. United States v. Randall, Civil Action No. 75-0062 (D.D.C. 1976).

3. Randall Affidavit Collection, Archives. Testimonies of patients submitted to federal courts and agencies in support of investigational new drug (IND) applications and petitions for rescheduling.

4. Merritt, John C., et al. "Effect of marijuana on intraocular and blood pressure in glaucoma." Ophthalmology, vol. 84, no. 3, 1977.

5. Hepler, Robert S., and Frank P. Frank. "Marihuana smoking and intraocular pressure." JAMA, vol. 217, no. 10, 1971.