Is Marijuana Legal In Maine? Kidney Patient Using Medical Cannabis Removed From Transplant Waiting List

A man with a hereditary disease called Alport Syndrome was recently taken off a kidney transplant waiting list in Maine for using medical marijuana.

The hospital claimed that they had removed Garry Godfrey’s name from the list due to medical reasons from patient pot-use, WGME News, a CBS affiliate in Southern Maine, reported Wednesday.

“I’ve tried so many pharmaceuticals and none of them worked, but the medical cannabis does,” Godfrey said. “It helps me function. It helps me take care of my kids.”

Read: Where is Marijuana Legal In The US? Map and List Of States That Don't Allow Medical Or Recreational Weed

Alport Syndrome is a genetic disease that can lead to eventual loss of kidney function and can leave patients in extreme discomfort. Symptoms include bloody urine and high levels of protein in the urine (proteinuria), also, as well as hearing loss and eyesight abnormalities can also develop. Progressive kidney diseases can be more common in men who suffer from the disease, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Godfrey had said he needed a new kidney and was placed on a transplant list for Maine Medical Center in the early aughts. Yet Godfrey learned that he was taken off the list after the center adhered to a new policy that would not let medical marijuana users remain on the list due to reported health issues. The Medical Center cited that a fungal infection known as Aspergillosis could develop from marijuana use and that the infection could pose life-threatening risks to those receiving a transplant.

“Our drug policy currently prohibits transplant candidates from using marijuana, due to the risk of an invasive fungal infection known as Aspergillosis,” the center had said in a statement.

A bill, L.D. 764, will be assessed that would keep Maine hospitals from rejecting transplant recipients because of medical marijuana use, the Portland Press Herald reported. The bill would apply directly to the Maine Medical Center because it is the only transplant center within the state, according to the news outlet.

The New England state recently voted to legalize recreational marijuana use in January.