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November 22, 2008 1:09:59 AM CST

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Battle Brews Over Medical Marijuana, Organ Transplants

Posted May 19, 08 2:27 PM CDT in Science & Health,  US 

(Newser) – Potential organ recipients who are using medically prescribed marijuana are being removed from transplant waiting lists, raising serious questions about transplant programs' screening processes, reports the LA Times. A Seattle man died last month after being denied a donor liver, and a critically ill man in Washington state has been bumped from two lists because he uses pot prescribed by a doctor.

"They are really killing people over this," says the lawyer for both men. Says a social worker in California, like Washington a state in which medical marijuana is legal: "If we are going to discriminate in this way, then we need to inform doctors that maybe they shouldn't be prescribing marijuana."

Source Los Angeles Times

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Tim Garon lies in his hospital bed as his girlfriend, Leisa Bueno, leans over to give him a kiss.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Tim Garon was refused a spot on the transplant list for a new liver, largely because he has used marijuana, even though it was legally approved for medical reasons.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Tim Garon lies in his hospital bed as his son, Lennon Garon, right, sits with him while they wait to hear if he will be put on a transplant list.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
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