‘I Smoked It and Felt the Disease Stop’ – Florida Medical Marijuana ‘Patron Saint’ Cathy Jordan Dies at 38 After ALS Diagnosis

Cathy Jordanwho credited medical marijuana with keeping her alive for decades after being diagnosed with ALS, died July 4 at her home in South Florida. She was 74.

Jordan, often referred to as the “patron saint” of medical marijuana in Florida, became a vocal advocate for the plant in the late 1990s after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1986. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the disease typically has a survival time of two to five years after onset. Remarkably, Jordan lived 38 years after diagnosis.

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The turning point in his life came in 1989, during a visit to Florida, when a friend introduced him to a strain of cannabis called Myakka Gold, the Florida Phoenix reported.

“I smoked it and felt the disease stop,” she said. Dr. Andrew Weil In a scene from the documentary “The Cathy Jordan Story,” she recounts how she smuggled marijuana onto a plane bound for Delaware. “I flew home and my husband had a nervous breakdown because I was moving drugs across state lines, but I was convinced I was going to survive.”

Jordan and her husband, Bob, later moved to Florida where she continued to use cannabis and experienced significant physical and mental improvements. For 27 years, Jordan was a dedicated activist, pushing for the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida, where she served as president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network from 2011 to 2015.

Her advocacy work included numerous trips to Tallahassee to lobby for the legalization of medical marijuana, despite resistance from the GOP-controlled legislature. In 2013, the “Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act” was introduced but never considered. Around the same time, her husband was arrested for growing marijuana plants for Cathy’s consumption, though the charges were later dropped.

In 2016, a medical marijuana amendment passed with over 71% approval. Subsequently, the Florida legislature passed a bill in 2017 banning smokable marijuana, which led to a trial in which Jordan testified in 2018, emphasizing the need for smokable cannabis.

Ron DeSantis Enters the Fray, in a Good Way

Elected governor in 2019 Ron DeSantis He acknowledged the law’s flaws and urged the legislature to repeal the ban on smoking marijuana.

“I don’t think this (medical marijuana) bill is up to the task,” he said, adding to Republicans that he wants the Legislature to repeal the ban on smoking marijuana for sick people.

Reflecting on his journey, Jordan said in 2019: “If you had told me 22 years ago that it would take 22 years, I might have reconsidered,” Jordan told Spectrum Bay News when DeSantis signed a bill allowing smoking marijuana.

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Photo: Facebook, Courtesy of Cathy Jordan Story