Sporting shaggy hair, green sunglasses and a bright yellow T-shirt that says "Weed," the boy chatting with two female employees in this office could have been any teenager. Except this 15-year-old hasn't eaten in 70 days and has already endured 30 operations.
Ryan has Crohn's disease. He is the youngest medical marijuana patient at a recently opened Las Vegas co-operative, Completely Legal. The nonprofit allows legally registered patients to donate marijuana for medical use by other co-op members.
"It saved his life," Ryan's mother, Tammy, says as she sits inside Completely Legal's waiting room, surrounded by "Weed" brand T-shirts and hats. "He has gained 30 pounds in the last few months. He was down to 80 pounds."
Ryan can't eat food because his colon was removed last year. He has a feeding tube for nourishment and carries a colostomy bag concealed by his "Weed" shirt -- a gift from Completely Legal founder Jake Lill, who at age 24 manages two co-ops in Las Vegas.
"He wore it to school today," Tammy says of Ryan's shirt, her tone indicating a hint of both surprise and parental disapproval.
Yet Tammy approves of the use of marijuana to make life better for seriously ill patients like her son. She says she learned of pot's pain-killing and medical uses from a family friend whose relative had Crohn's.
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