My name is Jim Bartell.

I am the father of Ryan Bartell and sponsor of Senate Bill 311 (Ryan’s Law); the Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis in Health Care Facilities Act.

Ryan and his wife Katie both worked in special education with mostly autistic children. To do that job takes not only special skills but also great patience and compassion. Ryan had those qualities and was very effective with his students.

They have a son, Conor, who will be 12-years old on April 26.

On March 1st, 2018, Ryan called me and my wife to tell us that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer and had only a few weeks to live. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and my heart sank, and the tears swelled. He was in the hospital on his birthday, March 9th, and he died on April 21st; just 7 weeks after being diagnosed. What happened between March 1st and April 21st, 2018, is why I am here today.

In the hospital, Ryan was given morphine and other opioids for pain relief, but those weren’t strong enough, so they added fentanyl, which is one hundred times more potent than morphine. The result was, he was asleep most of the time.

During one of his rare waking moments, he said he didn’t want to spend his last few weeks sleeping. He told me he wanted to be able to spend time with Katie and Conor, his parents, brother and sister, and his many friends. We suggested medical cannabis as an alternative, which he agreed to.

We had a medical cannabis chemist create cannabis medicines for pain relief. However, we were informed by the hospital that it was their policy not to allow cannabis in the hospital. The irony of that policy is that fentanyl and other opioids that kill 75,000 people a year in the U.S. are okay to have in the hospital, but not medical cannabis, which has never killed anyone!

After four and a half weeks, we were able to transfer him to another hospital that allowed medical cannabis. Because he couldn’t swallow anything, not even water, the chemist created a medical cannabis spray administered under the tongue for pain relief. The result was amazing! Awake and alert during the day, he was able to have conversations with Katie and Conor, me and my wife, his brother and sister, and other family and friends, without pain!

Instead of being asleep from the fentanyl, the medical cannabis provided him with a quality of life for his final two and a half weeks that allowed him to have much-needed conversations with his family and time to reminisce and laugh with his many friends who came to visit.

Every terminally ill patient should be able to have the same opportunity as Ryan; to spend their final days with as much quality and dignity as possible. They are dying… why wouldn’t we want that for them?

During the past week, we have met with the California Hospital Association and the California Department of Public Health to discuss their concerns. I believe they were productive meetings, and we agreed to continue our conversations and to find ways to mitigate their concerns.

At their suggestion, we will be meeting with the CMS and Justice Department in Washington to explore options that would mitigate CHA and CDPH concerns. We are confident that with the new administration in Washington, cannabis will be removed from the Schedule One list soon.

In conclusion, the happiest moments in my life were the first time I held each of my three children when they were born. The saddest moment in my life was holding Ryan’s hand as he took his last breath. My hope is that my saddest moment will be made less painful by ensuring that Ryan’s Law will allow thousands of other terminally ill patients to live their final days with the quality and dignity that he was able to experience.

Please support (Ryan’s Law). Thank you.