“You have stage 4 cancer” are words that no one wants or expects to hear, especially in their 20s. Those words were said to me last October and I have been in cancer treatment since then. In that time, I have relied on medical cannabis to manage the nausea and chronic pain that I experience from my treatment.

When I purchase cannabis from medical dispensaries in Maine, I expect the products to be well tested and safe for me to use. I was surprised and concerned to learn that medical cannabis in Maine isn’t required to be tested for contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals and mold.

It might not be grave for a healthy person to consume cannabis tainted with pesticides, mold or other toxins. But for me, burdened with a suppressed immune system from chemotherapy, it could be a death sentence. Between managing my diagnosis and the health complications it poses, I have enough to worry about it. I should not be additionally troubled by fear that the drug I’m taking to help relieve my symptoms could also make me sicker.

Please urge Maine’s lawmakers to pass LD 1847, as amended by Reps. Anne Graham and Marc Malon, to implement mandatory testing and tracking in Maine’s medical cannabis program. We’re the only state with medical cannabis that doesn’t require this basic oversight, putting patients like me at risk.

Grace Connolly
Falmouth