The Year of Wonder, 1978
Enjoy this blog on audio.
Throughout the nearly 50 years that I have been engaged in cannabis reform efforts, specific years stand out. Among them is 1978, which I have often called The Year of Wonder.
In 1976, my late husband, Robert C. Randall, cracked the medical cannabis prohibition by gaining access to federal supplies of marijuana. But in 1978, that crack was opened to a crevice that grew exponentially over the next three years into a fissure of demand.
Trained in rhetoric and public speaking, Robert was tailor-made to launch the medical marijuana movement. As America’s only legal marijuana smoker, he was a hot commodity, in demand at drug abuse conferences, state legislative hearings, and regional meetings of activists. He was constantly speaking to talk radio shows from around the country.
Federal Government Tries to Shutdown Randall’s Access
The federal government was not pleased and, in mid-1977, threatened to withdraw Robert’s marijuana supplies if he continued speaking out. When Robert forcefully pushed back, threatening to sue the government for impeding his right to speak, the agencies backed down and turned to the next link in the chain, Robert’s physician.
Dr. John Merritt was an ambitious young ophthalmologist, and when the National Eye Institute offered him a three-year grant of research and teaching at $95,000 a year (about $480K in today’s dollars), the young man jumped on it. There were strings, however. NEI made it a condition that he move from Howard University in Washington, DC, to the University of North Carolina in Raleigh, thus leaving Robert without a local doctor.
Merritt left Washington, DC, in January 1978; he gave Robert his remaining marijuana cigarettes, about 100. Robert would parse that supply for as long as possible, and then we returned to the illegal market.
New Mexico Steps Up
However, a year of constantly speaking around the country — either in person or on the radio — was about to bear fruit. In December 1977, at the annual NORML conference, a young cancer patient from New Mexico introduced himself to Robert and I. Lynn Pierson wanted the same kind of access that Robert had, but clearly, that was unlikely. Robert suggested Lynn go to his state legislature and try to pass a bill allowing state-wide medical cannabis use. This inclusive action could provide any New Mexican with legal medical cannabis.
It seemed a long shot, but Lynn returned home and enthusiastically went to work lobbying the New Mexico legislature. Lynn’s efforts in Sante Fe paid off. He was a native son with an overwhelmingly compelling story. The legislators listened and took action. New Mexico, became the first state to recognize marijuana’s medical utility legislatively. It was signed into law on February 21, 1978.
This action by the state of New Mexico caught the bureaucrats flat-footed. But there was more to come.
Craig Reichert and Court-Ordered Cannabis
On January 22nd, in El Centro, California, a local judge ordered confiscated supplies of marijuana to be delivered to Craig Reichert, a 21-year-old cancer patient in Scripps Clinic Hospital. The local sheriff arranged for one ounce of marijuana to be tested and then delivered to Reichert. For six weeks, until his death on March 4th, Craig would be the only legal marijuana patient in the country. His family reported the marijuana was very effective, and his fiancé said Craig, in his dying hours, wished he could “get out of bed and go out there and talk about this.” (Imperial Valley Press, March 4, 1978)
As spring arrived in 1978, the current state of medical marijuana reform could be safely called “in flux.” The four-decade medical prohibition was crumbling. In New Mexico, the Department of Health was busy negotiating with Washington to receive marijuana. It did not go well, and in August, Lynn would still be waiting on his deathbed for legal marijuana (supplies would not arrive until January 1979). His disappointment was tempered by the fact that three additional states — Florida, Louisiana, and Illinois — also passed medical marijuana laws in that Wonder Year of 1978. A dozen more were looking at plans for 1979.
Compassionate IND Program is Born
And in Washington, DC, America’s former legal marijuana patient was about to reclaim his title. The termination of Robert’s supply in early 1978 had made news and attracted the attention of a law associate at one of Washington’s largest law firms. With their help, the playing field became remarkably more even. Federal officials would still obfuscate and throw up roadblocks, but on May 4th, the civil lawsuit was filed. The lawsuit built upon the medical necessity decision in the 1976 case and strengthened it with an aggressive defense of Robert’s right to freedom of speech. It was settled within 48 hours. Eight days later, Robert visited his new doctor and left with an ordinary prescription slip for 70 marijuana cigarettes, which was filled at the Public Health Service pharmacy near our home. The government never again threatened Robert’s access. Other patients nationwide wanted the same treatment, and the compassionate IND program was born. During the next decade, it would be the only means of legal medical access.
Conclusion
Without question, federal drug agencies were battered by the year 1978. Throughout the country, people were watching and listening to this battle about medical marijuana. It wasn’t rocket science. It did not require special knowledge to understand that if critically ill patients were helped by cannabis, then they should get it. In 1976, Robert’s case made people aware of something that the government wanted us to forget: cannabis has medical value. In 1978, that awareness was converting to action as the efforts of three young men — Robert, Lynn, and Craig —battled for their health and the rights of all Americans to use cannabis for medical purposes legally. Next time you medicate, remember those names and the Year of Wonder, 1978. Perhaps even say “Thank you.” ❖