Hardy Macia,
2012 Candidate
for Congress
in New Hampshire
[UPDATE, May 13, 2013: Hardy Macia has just passed away, only days after recording this powerful video. We offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends. It’s worth remembering that even as Macia struggled with his health, he also continued to struggle against authoritarian laws. In the most trying moments of his life, Macia still used every opportunity he had to fight for freedom. May we all be so strong.]
Hardy Macia, long-time Libertarian Party activist and 2012 candidate for Congress in New Hampshire’s second district, released a video on May 8 pleading with Gov. Maggie Hassan to support the legality of growing medical marijuana at home, a provision removed from a bill passed in March that allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes in New Hampshire.
The video is a heartbreaking personal message from Macia, who was diagnosed last August with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and says he probably only has weeks left to live. Medical marijuana is one of the few things that make the life he has left bearable.
“To get to sleep at night, sometimes it’s the only thing that helps put me out, versus some of the harsh drugs that they give me, like the oxycodone or vicodin,” Macia said in the video.
The Concord Patch reported that H.B. 573-FN, the medical marijuana bill recently approved by the New Hampshire legislature, had the allowance for home-grown plants removed in order to gain the approval of Gov. Hassan — who had herself supported that provision when she served as a legislator. In his video, Macia attributes the change in her position to pressure from the state’s law enforcement agencies.
“Think about the patients,” Macia said. “Think about the people. Ignore the police unions. You really need to do this for the people in your state, and for the sick and dying. Leave it up to patients, and the doctors, and leave the law enforcement out of it.”
Macia’s video has attracted widespread attention, appearing in several local editions of the Patch and on the front page of the Huffington Post.
For decades, the Libertarian Party has called for the repeal of laws restricting the use of drugs for medical and personal purposes. The LP platform states, “We favor the repeal of all laws creating ‘crimes’ without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes.”
Libertarian Party officials and staff send their best wishes to Macia in his struggle against a debilitating disease and against authoritarian government regulations.
