by Marsha Rosenbaum

Last month, after battling cancer for over a decade, my friend, Judith Cushner, died.

I met Judith 20 years ago at a PTA meeting. She was the director of a popular cooperative nursery school in the neighborhood, and an active member of our local synagogue.

Judith Cushner was not the type of person I would have expected to be a medical marijuana activist, but she became one of our movement’s champions.

In 1989, at the age of 44, Judith was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following a mastectomy, she opted for radiation and chemotherapy. Both made her sick.

A Bay Area Baby Boomer, Judith was not unfamiliar with marijuana, and knew it could alleviate the constant nausea she experienced as part of her treatment. Her dilemma centered on having to break the law and then explain the use of an illegal drug to her children, then 9 and 11, who were at that time part of the DARE program.

Years later, in 1996,  Proposition 215 was on the ballot in California. Judith was eager to help, and became our “poster girl,” starring in a commercial that ran all over the state during the last weeks of the campaign. Standing in my kitchen, she looked directly into the camera and admitted to millions of people, “I want to tell you a secret. When I had breast cancer the chemotherapy was so awful, the nausea, the vomiting, the pain. I broke the law and got marijuana. It worked. I could eat…Proposition 215 allows cancer patients to get marijuana without becoming criminals. Vote yes on Proposition 215. Someday, you might need it.”

Proposition 215 passed, but that was hardly  the end of Judith’s involvement. In December of 1996 the federal government threatened to revoke the prescription licenses of physicians who recommended marijuana to their patients. The ACLU and the Drug Policy Alliance (then the Lindesmith Center) immediately sued the government (Conant v. McCaffrey), and Judith joined the suit, providing many hours of testimony that culminated in a victory for medical marijuana.

Four years later Judith suffered a recurrence of cancer, and again used medical marijuana to treat her nausea. By this time, several cannabis clubs had opened in San Francisco. Judith was relieved that she could procure her medicine legally—until the Drug Enforcement Administration began their raids.

In an effort to stop the DEA raids, Judith demonstrated her commitment and tenaciousness.  In September of 2003, while once again undergoing chemotherapy, Judith provided testimony to the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco regarding Proposition S—an initiative designed to protect patients from federal interference. “As a patient, I can tell you that marijuana has relieved the nausea I have experienced from chemotherapy better than any other medication I have tried. It was the only treatment that helped me gain much-needed weight. I know you understand the value of medical marijuana… and  hope that in the coming months you will work to implement a system that not only protects San Francisco patients from arrest, but gives them ready access to the quality medicine they need.”

My friend Judith Cushner was a fighter, and it was her story that prompted Senator Diane Feinstein to reverse her position and support patient access to medical marijuana.

Judith was a mensch. She was funny and smart and cynical and caring. Until the very end of her life, she loudly deplored the misguided drug policies of our government, and tried to bring about change.

Our movement has lost a good friend.

The Cushner family asks that those who wish to make a contribution in Judith’s name send donations to the Drug Policy Alliance, 2233 Lombard Street, San Francisco, California 94123 (tax deductible).