Medical marijuana advocates meet over public education

BELLEVILLE, ONT. (18/02/12) Al Graham, a representative of PACE - People Advocating Cannabis Education, was at The Studio, downtown Belleville Saturday night. Graham showed a video documentary and held a Skype interview with a cancer patient who believes in using medicinal cannabis in her recovery, to a small crowd. Photograph by Kelly Gagné

By Kelly Michelle Gagné

It’s not the typical crowd you’d expect at a meeting about marijuana. Instead, the crowd is older, men and women ranging between 30 and up, all interested in therapeutic cannabis.

People Advocating Cannabis Education – also known as PACE, are a group of participants who want to help spread the knowledge of cannabis to others, and people who have seen or experienced the medicinal benefits of cannabis through their own experience, or through a friend or loved one.

Al Graham was at The Studio, in downtown Belleville, last Saturday evening. He showed a documentary film What if Cannabis Cured Cancer, and held a Skype interview with Lynnice Wedewer, a medical professional, cancer survivor, and medicinal cannabis user.

Graham has been a PACE representative for the last five years, and is a strong believer in medicinal cannabis since his diagnosis with Chrohn’s disease in 2001. Graham stated numerous times that he has never needed to fill out a prescription for his disease.

“I used to think I was invincible, you know,” said Graham. “It wasn’t until I got really sick and the doctors basically told me I was first diagnosed with Chrohn’s disease that I realized I wasn’t invincible. The disease kicked the crap out of me.”

Graham is also a writer, and he often writes articles for the Treating Yourself magazine. Graham travels back and forth from Belleville to Campbellford once a month, where he hosts the PACE meetings, and attends tradeshows when there is one.

Attendance to the meetings is usually a fairly small group, but Graham does have his regulars who attend almost every meeting. This past Saturday’s meeting had a bit of a bigger crowd because Graham did the very first Skype interview with Lynnice Wedewer who has a Ph.D. and calls herself an “eight time professional cancer survivor.”

Wedewer, 34, strongly believes in, and expressed through her Skype interview with the small crowd, the power of medicinal cannabis. She explained how it played a huge part in her survival through seven rounds of cancer, and that it was currently helping her through her eighth round.

“Whether you can believe it or not, I just want all of you to hear my message and the power of my words and story. I know through my own experience, that cannabis is God’s plant and that it is a miracle that saves lives,” pleaded Wedewer in her Skype interview.

The room seemed to be a mix of emotions. A few people walked out mid-interview, whereas others stayed and listened to Wedewer’s interesting and powerful story.

When interviewed many asked to remain anonymous, but a regular who attended the meetings said that he found the Skype interview really interesting, and that it helped strengthen the PACE meeting.

It’s easy to stereotype those who believe in legalizing marijuana, but after attending a PACE meeting it was interesting to hear a well-fought, valid argument on medicinal cannabis. Graham said that he deals with the stereotype all the time, receiving a lot of grins and funny looks when he often wears his PACE hat and sweater.

“You just gotta smile and be happy, a happy world means a less sick world,” said Graham.

If you’re interested in reading up more on Lynnice Wedewer’s story, you can go to www.lynnicewedewer.com for her bio, articles and the documentary film. Or check out www.peopleadvocatingcannabiseducation.org for more on PACE.