Police in Missouri searched the hospital room of a man dying of pancreatic cancer, suspecting he had marijuana on him.
A video of the search uploaded to Facebook by the patient, Nolan Sousley, has been viewed about 700,000 times. The police were alerted after a security guard at Citizens Memorial Hospital in the town of Bolivar thought he could smell marijuana.
"I had some capsules that had some THC oil in them," Mr Sousley tells the police in the video. "I took them outside in the parking lot."
He tells them medicinal marijuana will be legal in only a matter of months, but the police refuse to budge, telling him right now, it's still illegal.
"I don't have time to wait for that," Mr Sousley protests. "Man, what would you do? Tell me what you'd do."
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The American Cancer Society says only 1 percent of people survive five years after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, which Mr Sousley has.
Police said there wouldn't be an investigation into the officer's actions, and Mr Sousley said he had no problem with the officers themselves because they "did what they had to do".
In the end they didn't find actually find any marijuana, and Mr Sousley wasn't charged. Mr Sousley told local newspaper the Bolivar Herald-Free Press that's because he doesn't smoke it, and had already swallowed the pills - but wishes people in his situation could if they wanted to, without being treated like a suspected criminal.
"I'm sick of our country, the way it is right now. I don't support the rules they have written. I use cannabis to save my life. I have the right to try anything. How can they say I can't? I have the right to live."
His partner Amber Kidwell said CBD oil, derived from marijuana, "helps with hunger, pain, inflammation".
"It's about a person's right to the choice of medication."
New Zealand has a limited regime for prescribing CBD-based medications, but will vote on ending marijuana prohibition completely at the 2020 election.
Newshub.
