Iowan Benton Mackenzie has been using cannabis oil to cure his cancer. Now, Iowa wants him and his family in prison. 
The Quad City Times did an excellent feature article yesterday on Mackenzie’s fight to stay out of prison, Medical Marijuana Heads For Trial In Iowa:
He used to be more of an outdoorsy type and an avid bagpiper, sometimes donning a kilt to pipe competitively. Heart disease and a cancer diagnosis have turned him into an online research junkie, looking for ways to manage his ailing health with marijuana and chat with other survivors…
Court records include a 2011 diagnosis from a Massachusetts lab requested by Bettendorf dermatologist Dr. Manish G. Kumar of “high-grade cutaneous angiosarcoma.” It’s a cancer of the blood vessels, in which tumors appear as skin lesions.
Mackenzie’s online research led to a recipe for the oil. If he rubs cannabis oil on the lesions and swallows the oil in capsule form, the lesions shrink and stop spreading. He also could manage his pain better with the cannabis oil than with narcotic prescription drugs.
He made the oil by boiling a mixture of raw plant material in isopropyl alcohol. He said he learned how from watching Rick Simpson’s online video “Run from the Cure.”
Mackenzie reported his marijuana use to his cardiologist, Dr. Michael Gimbel of Davenport, whose office noted it on a list of medications included in the court record: “Cannabis, take as directed.” Read Quad City Times full article here
And here's Reason Magazine’s article:
Prosecutors charged Mackenzie, his wife, his adult son, and his septuagenarian parents, with whom Mackenzie and his family live. He spent 42 days in jail until prison officials had him released amid worry about how much his medical treatment might cost them while he was in custody.Read Reason’s full article here.
Cannabis activists have long known about the scientific evidence for cannabis potential to cure cancer with none of the nasty side effects that come with traditional treatment such as chemotherapy. WeedPress subscribers might well remember this guest post from Justin Kander from March of 2011: SSDP’s Justin Kander: Man cures cancer with cannabis successfully. Below I have embedded the “Run From The Cure” documentary that led Benton Mackenzie to make cannabis oil to treat his cutaneous angiosarcoma tumors.
“Run From The Cure 2” is available here courtesy of Natural News: http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=AA4DC9365910F348E43E1B96A3179658
Follow WeedPress on Facebook or subscribe on the right hand side of the page for updates as the Mackenzie trial unfolds.
UPDATE 10-4-2013
The media has responded quite well since the Quad City Times article. Here’s some of the articles to have appeared so far this week:
Associated Press: Iowa man may attempt medical marijuana defense
Liberty Globe: Suffering, Terminal Cancer Patient And Family Jailed Over Medical Marijuana Use
Toke of The Town: Iowa lawmaker wants to decriminalize marijuana, legalize medical cannabis
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 
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