Good to see a burst of commonsense here
MSN reports
HAYS, Kan. (KSNF/KODE) – Earlier this month, cops visited a terminally-ill Kansas man’s hospital room after it was discovered that he was using a vaping device. On the morning of Dec. 24, The Wichita Eagle published an opinion piece titled “Christmastime hospital-room raid busts dying man for using marijuana extract,” written by Dion Lefler. This story has since gone viral.
According to the opinion piece, earlier this month, Hays police went to the hospital room of 69-year-old Greg Bretz, who is suffering from “terminal, inoperable cancer,” after a hospital worker at Hays Medical Center caught him vaping. The officers then cited him for drug possession and set a court date for Jan. 2.
The Wichita Eagle states that they spoke with Bretz on the phone, who told them that he has been vaping, as well as eating edible THC paste with bread, to relieve symptoms of his condition since being hospitalized roughly three weeks ago.
Bretz also told The Wichita Eagle that he most often lies “flat on his back” in his hospital bed, can’t stand up without being assisted and that his doctor told him to use whatever was necessary to relieve his pain, including products containing THC – the active ingredient in cannabis.
According to The Wichita Eagle, Bretz said that “a doctor told him to do whatever he wants if it makes him feel better, because there’s basically nothing medical science can do for him anymore other than hospice care.”
The Wichita Eagle continues to state that three officers came to his room and “were mostly intent on seizing his THC paste, which he (Bretz) argued was medicine, because his vaping liquid contains only a trace of THC, if any.”
KSN reached out to Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler to find out more.
According to Scheibler, the hospital called the police when vaping was found to be occurring as they were concerned that it was a fire hazard due to the presence of oxygen in the room.
In many vaping devices, puffing activates the battery-powered heating device, which vaporizes the liquid in the cartridge or reservoir for inhalation.
Scheibler tells KSN that two officers responded to the call. After the officers contacted the patient, they collected the item in question from hospital staff and issued a summons. Officers were there for about eight minutes. They then felt “uncomfortable” about the situation and contacted a supervisor.
The summons was later pulled, meaning the case no longer exists.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/police-dismiss-ticket-of-cancer-patient/ar-AA15IcTj
