Woman with terminal cancer jailed over medication in her system

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A grandmother with terminal cancer is in the Sedgwick County Jail because of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in her system while she was driving.
But the THC was in her system because it is in a medication her pharmacist says she needs in order to eat while on chemotherapy.
Angela Kastner has colorectal cancer. KAKE News spoke with her Tuesday night, right before she reported to jail for a 48-hour sentence. She's in jail as a result of a DUI, although she had nothing to drink.
"I had ... Marinol in my system that the doctors in Oklahoma gave me to fight cancer. I've been fighting cancer 5 years," Kastner said.
Marinol is an FDA approved medication for cancer patients. It helps them keep down food. It's a synthetic form of THC, but it's legal.
According to her pharmacist, the amount of THC in her blood is not enough to make anyone high. The time Kastner will spend in jail will force her to miss a chemo session, which will force her to restart her whole regimen. Her doctor is not happy.
"I miss my chemo tomorrow and I miss my doctors appointment tomorrow," said Kastner.
Colonel Brenda Dietzman with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office says Kastner chose the date on which to begin her 48-hour sentence and the jail has to accommodate that.
"We routinely, on a daily basis, take inmates to dialysis and other medical procedures and appointments," Dietzman said. "We take the care of our inmates very seriously."
She could not speak to why Kastner did not take the option of being taken for chemo, referring calls to the city courts. However, she did say that approximately $6 million is spent each year for inmate medical expenses, which is about three times the annual cost of the jail's food.
Kastner said she is coming forward with her story so other cancer patients won't have to experience the same legal treatment.
"I feel sorry for the next cancer patient who has to go through anything I have had to go through. They shouldn't have to do this at the end of their life."
Kastner did plead no contest to the DUI charge. In a document obtained by KAKE News, her doctor says that if chemotherapy does not work then she will need hospice care.
http://www.kake.com/story/35335390/woman-with-terminal-cancer-jailed-over-medication-in-her-system?utm_medium=social&utm_source=KAKE-TV

The sentence is nobodies fault but her own. She had the right to make an innocent plea but choose not to contest the charge due to sheer ignorance about the law.

Something isn't right about this story, it has my BS detector going off. Why would you plead no contest to anything, why would she not make the jail take her to her Dr appointment. Only thing I can think is that she got pulled over while driving like shit, with a joint hanging out of her mouth, for her 12th DUI or something. BTW, just because you have a prescription, doesn't mean you are entitled to drive under the influence. I almost got myself in trouble driving home from the dentist, but the cop gave me a break, and let me call for a ride. I was F'ed up having a bad reaction to the sedative that was suppose to be worn off. That was one of the stupidest things I have done, I knew I was all over the road, but couldn't pull off doing any better. If the cop would have pressed the issue, I don't know if it would have gone down as DUI or a medical issue.

Sucks they pled no contest...

Eventually, someone with a shitload of money is going to pass a field sobriety test (because they're perfectly safe to drive) and still get charged. It'll be a huge publicity thing and the end result will be a move toward sanity, as in no more testing for THC with drivers and accidents.

Hell, when 'they' finally understand the truth there will likely be a push to get CBD into truck drivers, so our streets will be safer as they drive them.

Something sounds fishy.

It says in the article that she chose when to serve the sentance. Why choose to miss the Dr. and Chemo appointments?

Also, most places Misdemeanor time is 50%, so does that mean she has 24 hours to do? And if you turn yourself in before a certain time then they will usually only hold you overnight and count that as 24 hours.