Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) became the first sitting U.S. Congressman in recent history to openly admit the use of cannabis, which is still considered by the federal government to be a dangerous, highly-addictive substance with no accepted medical value.
While addressing a group of activists representing the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) on Tuesday, Rep. Rohrabacher said that he regularly experiences arthritis pain, having spent most of his life an avid surfer. “I haven’t been able to go surfing for a year-and-a-half and I’ve been in severe pain,” he said.
The Republican congressman explained that he recently attended a trade show in San Bernardino, at which he was shown a cannabis-infused topical. “It’s a candle and you light the candle, and the wax is in there and it melts down, and then you rub it on whatever you’ve got problems with,” said Rohrabacher. In the congressman’s case, it was his shoulder that suffered severe arthritis pain. “And you know what? I tried it about two weeks ago, and it’s the first time… in a year-and-a-half that I’ve had a decent night’s sleep, because the arthritis pain was gone.”
“Now don’t tell anybody I broke the law,” Rohrabacher continued after a brief explosion of applause. “They’ll bust down my door and, you know, and take whatever’s inside and use it for evidence against me. The bottom line is that… there’s definitely cannabis in there, and it makes sure that I can sleep now.”
Rep. Rohrabacher is one of Congress’ most outspoken advocates for the reform of U.S. marijuana laws. However, this was the first time that he openly discussed his own medical marijuana use.
The congressman’s full remarks can be heard in Russ Belville’s report for Cannabis Radio.