NJ Medical Marijuana - Chuck Kwiatkowski: Multiple Sclerosis Patient
From: Chris Goldstein
Length: 09:03
Chuck Kwiatkowski moves his body in manner that is hard to describe, there is a hesitance or mild shakiness. It comes from pain and discomfort. It is there when he walks or extends his arm to shake your hand or even in how his bright eyes seem to smile before the rest of his face.
The former computer technician for AT&T, who spent thousands of hours restoring phone connections after 9/11, is now on disability and coping with Multiple Sclerosis. We all know it simply as MS.
But Chuck knows it as a chronic disease that has taken away his mobility and career. Smoking or eating marijuana has been the one thing that eases the pain and other symptoms, allowing him to spend time with his three daughters.
As if all of this weren't enough; Chuck had the incredible courage to candidly testify before a New Jersey State Senate Health Committee hearing looking at medical cannabis. His honesty and truly heartbreaking situation were moving. Senator Bill Baroni quoted passages of that testimony on the Senate floor as reasons why he needed to vote 'Yes' for the bill.
On February 23, 2009, just after 4:20PM ET, The Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act, SB119 passed in the New Jersey State Senate by a 22-16 vote. Chuck stood in the gallery and cheered with other supporters. When I saw him in the hallway outside the chambers he said enthusiastically and repeatedly: "It really is a great day to be an American."
Kwiatkowski's comments sum up the reasons for this mile-marker success for medical marijuana access in the Garden State. It was the courage of patients stepping forward and telling their stories to elected officials combined with a resounding public response, in the form of emails and phone calls, which propelled the issue. It was a day when the system worked.
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Piece Description
Chuck Kwiatkowski moves his body in manner that is hard to describe, there is a hesitance or mild shakiness. It comes from pain and discomfort. It is there when he walks or extends his arm to shake your hand or even in how his bright eyes seem to smile before the rest of his face.
The former computer technician for AT&T, who spent thousands of hours restoring phone connections after 9/11, is now on disability and coping with Multiple Sclerosis. We all know it simply as MS.
But Chuck knows it as a chronic disease that has taken away his mobility and career. Smoking or eating marijuana has been the one thing that eases the pain and other symptoms, allowing him to spend time with his three daughters.
As if all of this weren't enough; Chuck had the incredible courage to candidly testify before a New Jersey State Senate Health Committee hearing looking at medical cannabis. His honesty and truly heartbreaking situation were moving. Senator Bill Baroni quoted passages of that testimony on the Senate floor as reasons why he needed to vote 'Yes' for the bill.
On February 23, 2009, just after 4:20PM ET, The Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act, SB119 passed in the New Jersey State Senate by a 22-16 vote. Chuck stood in the gallery and cheered with other supporters. When I saw him in the hallway outside the chambers he said enthusiastically and repeatedly: "It really is a great day to be an American."
Kwiatkowski's comments sum up the reasons for this mile-marker success for medical marijuana access in the Garden State. It was the courage of patients stepping forward and telling their stories to elected officials combined with a resounding public response, in the form of emails and phone calls, which propelled the issue. It was a day when the system worked.
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