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22 Year Old with Food Allergy Gets Arrested for Cannabis Possession and Dies After One Night in Jail
A 22-year-old man with severe food allergies died in a Washington state jail after turning himself in on a pot charge, and now his mother and her attorney will encourage the prosecutor’s office to file involuntary manslaughter charges against jail workers who could have prevented his death.
The Herald newspaper of Everett and KIRO-TV of Seattle report that Michael Saffioti died a day after turning himself in on July 2.
Saffioti’s mother, Rose Saffioti, says her son brought along a bag of medications needed to control his allergies and asthma, and he had expected to be placed in the jail’s medical unit.
Instead, he was placed in the general population and his special needs were ignored.
Rose says she has spoken with other inmates who were there and they told her that Michael couldn’t breathe after eating oatmeal,and then he begged for help but was accused of faking it and ignored by prison workers.
The medical examiner’s office determined on Thursday that he died from bronchial asthma brought on by his milk allergy.
“You can’t get help. You can’t call 911. You’re at their complete mercy,” said Anne Bremner, an attorney representing the Saffioti family.
“When the jail’s the one that gives you something that’s going to kill you — that they know is going to kill you — they, at a minimum, have to rescue you. And they didn’t.”
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said it would not comment on what happened or on the potential lawsuit until its investigation is complete.
Michael Saffioti knew dairy could kill him. He grew up reading labels and carrying medication, and still suffered severe reactions whenever he was merely near dairy protein.
The stress made him anxious to the point of needing medication.
“Ultimately, he found and thought he was better functioning using marijuana,” said his mother.
Cannabis has an incredible ability to heal sick people and create more environmentally friendly industrial products. It is also one of the safest drugs known to our species.
Michael did not have a medical marijuana prescription, and his use put him in and out of the legal system. In the most recent incident, he and his mother went to police, armed with his medical history after he had missed a court date.
Like so many people across the country who use cannabis to help them cope with debilitating stomach ailments, Michael was still thrown in a cage and then treated like an animal because he didn’t have a piece of paper saying that he was allowed to consume this specific plant.
J.G. Vibes is the author of an 87 chapter counter culture textbook called Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance and host of a show called Voluntary Hippie Radio.
He is also an artist with an established record label and event promotion company that hosts politically charged electronic dance music events. You can keep up with his work, which includes free podcasts, free e-books & free audiobooks at his website www.aotmr.com .
Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
Contributed by J. G. Vibes of The Intel Hub.
2012-10-19 11:01:08
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