Terminally ill cancer patient sues state for being denied medical marijuana

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - A terminally ill cancer patient is suing the state of Michigan in federal court.
  
She says her access to medical marijuana was stopped after the state put stronger restrictions on it. 

"My name is Sherry Hoover and I have stage 4 mastocytosis which I have been battling since 2011," she said. "In 2018 I was also diagnosed with mass cell leukemia.”

The 57-year-old retired nurse depends on several specific medical marijuana products to help her with her illnesses. Those products are now not available at either of the two medical marijuana dispensaries that normally carry them.

"Ms. Hoover needs this medication," said attorney Michelle Donovan. "There are no other places that she can purchase this medication which would force her to buy it illegally on the black market."

So now Hoover's attorney has filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. 

Beginning April 1, LARA started enforcing new regulations. Medical marijuana dispensaries can no longer sell products procured directly from private caregivers - as a result, Hoover can’t get the medicine she needs.

"We're asking LARA to do what they ultimately did before, to allow those caregivers to sell directly to those licensed dispensaries," Donovan said. "So that these medical marijuana users can get those products what they need."

Hoover has now been without her medicines for three weeks.

"It's a horrible feeling - the pain, it feels like my bones are being twisted," she said. "If I get back on the medication, it takes all that away."

There is no word on when the judge will rule on this case.