Filmmaker Jed Riffe almost forgot where to show up for a discussion event and film screening of his documentary, Waiting to Inhale. In speaking to The Spectrum, Riffe was initially unable to recall the time and room where the event was to be held.
Hosted by the Health Education division of Sub-Board I, the event included a showing of Riffe's movie and a panel discussion on the legalization of medicinal marijuana. Only 14 people attended, not including Riffe, who got the location right.
New York legalization lobbyist Vincent Marrone participated in the discussion and was joined by Joel Peacock, a victim of chronic pain caused by a 2001 car crash that left him permanently injured. His pain medication costs him over $30,000 per year.
Peacock opened the discussion with an anecdote about the first time he used medicinal marijuana.
Helping to repair a roof damaged by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Peacock ran out of his medication and was unable to refill a prescription locally.
"I was in a lot of pain," Peacock said.
The homeowner invited him inside after repeatedly asking Peacock whether he was a police officer, gave him a bag and said, "This will make you feel better."
"The pain just went away," Peacock told the audience. "I've never been so happy in my life."
Since then, he has been unable to use medicinal marijuana due to regular screenings associated with his pain medication but remains a strong advocate of legalization.
"It shouldn't be outlawed," Peacock said. "I'd rather see alcohol against the law - I've never had a friend injured in a car crash caused by marijuana."
Following the film, which covered aspects of medicinal legalization ranging from the history of advocacy groups to points of view of the DEA, Marrone articulated on the motivation of politicians to resist legalization.
"If you look at the polling numbers, people overwhelmingly support legalization," he said.
He suggested that politicians avoid the issue for fear of "losing votes."
"It's a third-rail issue for most politicians," he said.
During a question-and-answer session held at the end of the discussion, freshman biological sciences major Matt Kopalek asked why the issue of medicinal legalization gets so little media attention.
"How open are people to discussing it?" he asked.
Kopalek suffers from a disk fusion in his spinal column, which occurred when he was 14 years old. He supports the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, he said, because "pills and medication don't help."
Though Health Education Director Dede Hoffer was disappointed with the turnout, she stated that the message is more important than the attention.
"The numbers don't mean everything," she said.
Riffe agreed, explaining that UB was only one university on a long list of event sites.
"Let's consider this the start of something," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
