Timothy Garon

Timothy Dean Garon (September 13, 1951 - May 2, 2008) was an American musician who was denied a liver transplant by the University of Washington Medical Center due to his legal use of cannabis.

Garon contracted the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and received medical cannabis under the supervision of a physician in compliance with Initiative 692 of the State of Washington's Medical Use of Marijuana Act of 1998. The law makes it legal for patients to use, possess and cultivate cannabis with a medical certificate according to state law, but not according to U.S. federal law. Garon's physician "authorized Garon to smoke pot to alleviate nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite."

The issue raises ethical concerns concerning future transplants. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Policy Project posted blogs on the internet addressing Garon's story.

Music

Tim Garon recorded two albums: one titled "Drunk in the Arms of Love" with Cam King, and another titled "Silence of Her Heart" with T-Bone Wolk who was in the SNL band for many years and played with Halls & Oates. His myspace page is still online and list his music styles as "Acoustic / Rock / Americana".

Further reading

• Baram, Marcus (2008-05-20). "Medical Marijuana User Denied Organ Transplant". Health. ABC News. Retrieved 2008-07-22. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Heffter, Emily (2008-05-04). "Rally calls for end to pot "prohibition"". Local News. Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-07-22. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Holden, Dominic (2008-05-20). "Chronic Illness". News. The Stranger. Retrieved 2008-07-22. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Johnson, Gene (2008-05-26). "Medical Marijuana Patients Face Transplant Hurdles". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Mattsukawa, Lori (2008-04-28). "Medical Marijuana Knocks Seattle Musician Off Transplant List". KING-TV. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Ostrom, Carol M. (2008-05-03). "Is Medical Marijuana Use Reason to Deny Someone an Organ Transplant?". Health. Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-07-22. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• "Patient Spotlight" (PDF). Marijuana Policy Report. 14 (2). Washington, DC: Marijuana Policy Project: 10. Summer 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
• Johnson, Gene (Associated Press) (2008-05-02). "Pot Eased Suffering, May Have Cost His Life". Local News. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-07-22. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Yagi, Joy (2008-05-07). "UW Medical Center Denies Transplant, Man Dies". The Daily of the University of Washington. Retrieved 2008-07-22. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

• Tim Garon's Myspace page