Medical marijuana became available in Louisiana almost a month ago, and the 1,500 legal consumers of the drug since then have included attorneys, war veterans, teachers — and former Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
Blanco’s family sought a prescription on Aug. 6, when she was suffering excruciating pain and appeared to be on the verge of death from a rare type of cancer known as ocular melanoma.
Drops of medical marijuana mixed with methadone not only kept Blanco alive for nearly two more weeks, but they dramatically improved her quality of life over that time, said Karmen Blanco-Hartfield, who is the former governor’s oldest child.
“It was a game-changer,” she said.
Blanco died on Aug. 18.
