'I Smoked It And I Felt The Disease Stop' - Florida's 'Patron Saint' Of Medical Marijuana Cathy Jordan Dies 38 Years After ALS Diagnosis

Cathy Jordan, who credited medical marijuana with keeping her alive for decades after being diagnosed with ALS, passed away on July 4 at her South Florida home. She was 74.

Jordan, often referred to as the "patron saint" of medical marijuana in Florida, became a prominent advocate for the plant in the late 1990s after she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1986. Also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, the condition typically has a survival period of two to five years after onset. Remarkably, Jordan lived 38 years post-diagnosis.

Read Also: Cannabis Linked To Diabetes Prevention And Better Blood Sugar Control, New Study Finds

Her turning point came in 1989 during a visit to Florida when a friend introduced her to a strain of cannabis called Myakka Gold, reported the Florida Phoenix.

"I smoked it and I felt the disease stop," she told Dr. Andrew Weil in a scene shown in the documentary, “The Cathy Jordan Story.”  She described how she smuggled cannabis on a plane to Delaware. "I flew home that way, and my husband had a nervous breakdown because I was interstate transporting drugs, but I was convinced I was going to live."

Jordan and her husband, Bob, later relocated to Florida where she continued using cannabis and experiencing significant physical and mental improvements. For 27 years, Jordan was a dedicated activist, pushing for the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida where she served as president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network from 2011 to 2015.

Her advocacy included numerous trips to Tallahassee to lobby for medical cannabis legalization, despite resistance in the GOP-controlled legislature. In 2013, the "Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act" was introduced but never received a hearing. Around the same time her husband was arrested for cultivating cannabis plants for Cathy's use, though the charges were later dropped.

In 2016, a medical marijuana amendment passed with over 71% approval. Following this, the Florida Legislature enacted a bill in 2017 banning smokable marijuana, prompting a lawsuit in which Jordan testified in 2018, highlighting the necessity of smokable cannabis.

Ron DeSantis Steps Into The Fray, In A Good Way

Elected governor in 2019 Ron DeSantis acknowledged the law’s shortcomings and urged the Legislature to repeal the smokable marijuana ban.

"I don't think this [the medical marijuana] law is up to snuff," he said and told Republicans that he wanted the Legislature to repeal the law's ban on smokable pot for sick people.

Reflecting on her journey, Jordan remarked in 2019, "If you had told me 22 years ago that this was going to take 22 years, I may have rethought it," Jordan told Spectrum Bay News when DeSantis signed legislation allowing smokable cannabis.

Read Next:

• ‘Millions Are Using Cannabis Yet Only 18 Labs Are Studying It,’ Says Johns Hopkins Scientist

Photo: Facebook, courtesy of Cathy Jordan Story