“NORWICH, Conn. (WTNH) –The 31-year-old Norwich man was arrested for growing marijuana inside his home, but says he was only trying to ease his pain.

Tuesday, a Norwich man was in court facing drug charges. Wednesday, he felt comfortable enough to show News 8 how he uses medical marijuana to ease his pain.

31-year-old Joseph Tamborra says the effects are immediate.

“What is the difference after you take a hit,” asked News 8’s Tina Detelj.

“Uhhh it just takes my nausea completely away. It’s like night and day,” Tamborra said.

Relief from nausea caused by his Crones Disease and the pain from a hip and back injury after a car accident.

“I don’t have any cartilage in my hip,” Tamborra said.

It was too much to take, so he took matters into his own hands growing pot plants in a second floor bedroom of his Norwich home. However, that’s illegal and he was arrested for possession and operating a drug factory.

While his court case continued he received his medical marijuana card in March. A picture shows him after losing 90 pounds, unable to smoke after his arrest and too nauseous to eat.

“That helped me out like tremendously,” he said. “Once they realized okay there’s a reason for him doing this.”

At New London Superior Court Tamborra was ordered to perform community services and the charges will go away, but he’s still faced with a dilemma. He says because the medical marijuana law is so new there’s no process in place for him to buy the medical marijuana.

“Hopefully mid-summer, by the end of the year, they might have a dispensary or two set up,” Tamborra said. “I’ve also heard they might just limit it to pharmacies, I’m not really sure.”

The state says it is still working on how the medical marijuana will be dispensed and who can be a licensed producer.”

-Tina Detelj

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/new_london_cty/using-medical-marijuana-to-ease-pain#.UYu7Dcp48Qs