Pot patient dies after police took his supply

A doctor in Augsburg is alleging that his American patient could still be alive today if police had not taken away his medical marijuana, it was reported on Tuesday.

In September, authorities went into the home of Robert Strauss and seized his legal pot supply and one illegally self-grown pot plant.

Strauss received a federally appointed license to smoke cannabis after traditional medications had too many side effects, Dr. Franjo Grotenherman told the Süddeutsche, who profiled the 50-year-old cancer patient in December.

As the costs began to top €1,000 a month, Strauss started growing his own, even though he was not one of the three men in Germany who were allowed to do so.

The seizure of his pot supply – in total five grammes – just enough for a little more than two days to treat his chronic pain, put him back on the medication. German health insurance does not pay for medically prescribed marijuana.

Last week, Grotenherman got a call from Strauss, who moved from  New Jersey to Bavaria 28 years ago, saying that he was in the hospital, but was doing well, said the Süddeutsche.  However, a few days later, Strauss died.

The doctor said that the medications Strauss was on made him so sleepy, that he stumbled, leaving him with several sprains and bruises. 

Grotenherman speculates that the injuries sustained in the fall were already too much for his ailing body, causing his organs to go into shock, leading to his death.