Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jan 2013
Source: Ravalli Republic (Hamilton, MT)
Copyright: 2013 Ravalli Republic
Contact:  http://www.ravallirepublic.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3254
Author: Perry Backus

ADVOCATE TO THE END: MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUPPORTER LOSES BATTLE WITH LUNG CANCER

Lori Burnam was never one to seek the limelight.

But the Hamilton woman's advocacy for medical marijuana in Montana 
propelled her to the forefront of a challenge to the state's new, 
more restrictive marijuana law.

"She was always quiet and took care of her family," remembers her 
daughter, September Moore. "She also was one to stand up for what she 
thought was right."

Burnam, 66, died Thursday at her home following a six-year battle 
with lung cancer for which she used medical marijuana to ease the 
pain and stimulate her appetite. She also suffered from glaucoma, 
emphysema and other ailments.

"The ironic thing was the glaucoma she suffered from didn't respond 
to marijuana," said her son, Trevor Burnam.

Burnam's story was featured in the documentary "Code of the West," a 
film that tracked the 2011 legislative debate over the future of 
medical marijuana in the state.

After the Legislature passed a bill that eliminated compensation for 
medical marijuana providers and reduced the number of patients that 
providers could care for to three, Burnam and many others with 
chronic diseases worried about their future access to the drug.

And so she opened up her life  as challenging as it was  to the 
citizens of Montana in the documentary and opinion pieces. She told 
people of the pain she suffered under traditional treatments and the 
relief that medical marijuana provided in comparison to morphine.

"The treatments I went through were horrendous, the pain I experience 
is excruciating, and the various modern medications I am given cause 
hideous nightmares," she wrote. "Let me tell you, cancer is a cruel 
way for a person's life to come to an end."

She said medical marijuana worked better for her and didn't produce 
horrible side effects.

Her son said she believed that everyone in the same situation should 
have that choice.

"It let her have a quality of life and gave her a sense of peace," 
Burnam said. "She outlived everyone's expectations. She was given six 
months to live in 2008."

Despite being in declining health in December, Burnam traveled to 
Helena to testify at a hearing over the new law's constitutionality.

 From her wheelchair, she told District Judge Jim Reynolds that she 
wanted to enjoy the time she had left and that marijuana allowed her 
to remain lucid around her family.

Burnam used marijuana up to just a few hours before she died, Moore said.

"She was completely coherent and continued to make wonderful memories 
with her family because of that," Moore said.

The Montana Cannabis Information Association brought the lawsuit 
against the state. Its president, Chris Lindsey, remembers Burnam's 
testimony as being powerful.

"There is no question about it," Lindsey said. "She had no interest 
in grandstanding. This wasn't for her ego. It was a big deal for her 
to sit in a car for the drive from Hamilton to Helena and then sit in 
the courtroom for the better part of the day.

"Her testimony made a tremendous impression," Lindsey said.

Reynolds had previously ruled that patients have a constitutional 
right to access medical marijuana, but that ruling was struck down by 
the Supreme Court last fall.

The case was sent back to district court and Reynolds was ordered to 
determine whether the restrictions in the 2011 law were rationally 
related to a legitimate government interest.

Reynolds has yet to make a ruling in the case.

Burnam told the judge the uncertainty over the law had made it more 
difficult for her to obtain medical marijuana.

The morphine her physicians prescribed caused her horrible 
nightmares, made her sleepy and gave her the sweats. She said it also 
caused her to lose five pounds, dropping her weight to 69 pounds.

When asked if she could buy her own marijuana if her provider was 
forced to shut down, Burnam replied: "No. Do I look like I'm connected?"

Reynolds later called Burnam's testimony an illustration of how the 
new law's directive that forced people in her condition to grow their 
own marijuana was not rational.

Lindsey said anyone who talked with Burnam could tell that she was genuine.

"When a person reaches a certain age, they get to a point that they 
don't need to put up with any BS any more," he said. "You got that 
with Lori. She cut through it all. What she is is who you got."

Moore said her family didn't realize the impact Burnam had made.

"It's apparently a lot bigger than we all thought," she said. "We've 
always known that she was incredibly brave and lived what she believed."

Moore said her mother's story reverberated with people because it was 
similar to so many others.

"She wasn't the 20-year-old with back problems who went out and got a 
medical marijuana card," she said. "There were many, many, many 
people in the state just like her. She believed that there had to be 
a way to make it work without ruining it for the people who need it.

"She said that we as a people, should be able to come together to fix 
this problem," Moore said.

Burnam moved to Hamilton in 1995 with her elderly parents, whom she 
cared for in her home and where they died. She owned and operated a 
housekeeping service for several years before becoming ill.

Her care provider, Kartrina Farnum of Missoula, said Barnum became a 
huge cornerstone in changing people's minds about medical marijuana. 
Her impact was felt from the ladies in her women's club who saw her 
change after she began taking less morphine to the courtroom in Helena.

Kartrina said she worked with a lot of different people in hospice 
who at the end couldn't speak or talk because of the high level of 
drugs in their system.

"Her cognitive function was very, very sharp," she said. "She was a 
really strong-willed lady with this amazing fire in her. She really 
followed her passion."

And she touched a lot of lives along the way.

"I just feel sorry that she hasn't seen all the response," said her 
ex-husband, Larry Burnam. "I know it would have lifted her heart greatly."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom