Tim Garon–Another Drug War Casualty

May 9, 2008 by Kingston

Most of the time the War on Drugs is just costly and worthless, but sometimes it kills good people. This time the blood is on the hands of the University of Washington Medical Center and Swedish Medical Center.

Tim Garon was a Seattle guitarist, who described his style as Acoustic Funk Americana. Being a snarky punk, I tend to describe it as above average hippie chord picking, but he was greatly appreciated on the PNW caffeine circuit. Tim was also one of two lead singers for Nearly Dan, a decent Steely Dan tribute group.

I don't have a quality clip of Nearly Dan, so here is a hysterical Steely Dan video, which could only be improved upon if viewed stoned:

Most recently Tim teamed up with T Bone Wolk, of the SNL band, to produce two albums, Silence of her Heart, and

Drunk in the Arms of Love.

Timothy Garon died on May Day primarly because he was denied a spot on the transplant list because he had used medically prescribed marijuana (which in an inane schizoid way is legal in Washington State, but of course, strictly prohibited by The Feds—who may change their tune the day a Supreme Court Justice' s family member needs it to ease the pain of terminal cancer).

Garon suffered from advanced Hepatitis C. Dr. Brad Roter prescribed marijuana to alleviate the nausea and abdominal pain, as well as stimulate his patient's appetite.

The disease progressed to the point that the only thing that would save Tim's life was a liver transplant. And he only had days to live.

But, the doctors at the University of Washington Medical Center and the Swedish Medical Center refused to put him on the transplant list—because he had been using medicinal marijuana. Their concern was not that marijuana has any adverse effects on the liver (it does not)—but that it was “indicative of an addictive personality.”

The docs were willing to reconsider if Garon enrolled in a sixty day rehab program. The gesture was either idiotic or evil, depending on how you want to look at it, since it was known that Tim would die before he could even get half way through their twelve step program.

A man is dead today because of ignorance about the medical benefits of marijuana, the head-up-their-pompous-ass righteousness of the medical establishment and the cruel unconstitutional federal prohibition of the plant.