Bleeding Kansas Advocates
cannabis just come in and screw over patients and advocates who have been fighting for medical cannabis reform for over a decade ? I don ’ t know — yet ! Just asking these questions makes me sick . If verified , this information will make all the patients and advocates of Kansas sick too . Sick with rage .
David Auble worked for years to educate Kansas lawmakers . Every trip to the capitol over these last eight years cost him both financially and in pain . Auble lived out in Paradise , KS , three hours from Topeka . He was on disability , the unfortunate legacy of his traditional cancer treatment . He would do without other things he needed because he had scrimped and saved to afford gas for the trip . It would take him days to physically recover from a trip to the capitol . Many times , he had to pull over and rest before continuing his drive back home . We would all check on him while he was on the road and bite our nails until we knew he had made it home .
Chemotherapy and radiation had devastated his body . He had a condition in his neck called Radiation Induced Fibrosis . It made his neck muscles as hard as wood . Not even x-rays could penetrate them . That was always the worry . It would come back , and they would not be able to see it . It is exactly what happened . He told them it was back . They did not believe him until too late . Auble was often in immense pain and often confined to a wheelchair . He had a feeding tube . It was not easy for him to travel , even when others would drive him . Yet , nothing would keep him from the capitol , or any opportunity , to meet with lawmakers who were ready to listen . He was never just fighting for himself but for every patient in Kansas . However , the children captured his heart most of all . He was always supportive to all the parents fighting to access cannabis for their kiddos . Auble did get to see freedom , not in his home state , however , but only when a friend took him to see Colorado . There he visited Kansas refugees from our BKA group just to check up on the kiddos and their families .
David Auble will be cremated . His tiny church in Paradise covered costs . A warrior ’ s ashes will be all that is left physically , but his impact on all who loved him will remain solidly with us . He was the first to rise to help another patient . The first to welcome a new patient to our group . The first to volunteer for any opportunity to speak to Kansas lawmakers . He always encouraged those working for change and was always there to have our backs against the critics . Kansas senators will once again be meeting to “ work ” on medical cannabis this summer . We hear July . We request that they change the name of the current bill to the David Auble Medical Cannabis bill . It really seems like the very least that they could do . But , as we all know , the Kansas senate is very good at not managing to do even the least . Unless , of course , you have the money to motivate them .
I miss you , my friend . May love and peace surround you . We , Bleeding Kansas Advocates , will continue the fight until all are # FreeToHeal .
Written views of the contributing writers expressed in this publication belong to the writers and do not necessarily reflect the sentiments or editorial opinion of the publisher or staff of The EVOLUTION Magazine .