Honoring the Legacy of Michigan Advocate Zahra Abbas

The cannabis community has suffered a great loss over the deaths of its community members, but today we are deeply saddened to hear that Michigan cannabis advocate and political activist Zahra Abbas passed away at the age of 35.

The Michigan Democratic Cannabis caucus, which she chaired, announced her obituary. July 28th“Without Zahra, the cannabis caucus wouldn’t be what it is today. Without her, the world would be a lonelier place.” caucus wrote online“Our deepest condolences to her family and friends. We know she touched many in this wonderful state and beyond.”

Abbas was a prominent patient advocate for cannabis and sought to spread the word about cannabis and its medical benefits. dedicated to guiding progressive athletic behavior to improve positive outcomes,” the post continued. “Zahra has often been thwarted by our healthcare system and cannabis bans that sometimes prevent her from giving her the only medicine that can control her seizures.”

of Detroit metro times Report Zahra’s passing and explain the interview they gave her 2017At the time, she was suffering from daily seizures that were not resolved by brain surgery or prescription drugs, but cannabis was a game changer for her.

“As soon as I started taking it, the seizures stopped within a few days,” Abbas said. metro times “Before I started researching epilepsy, I was very against marijuana because there was so much misinformation about it. It led me to the choice of having surgery… Turning to cannabis was kind of my last resort.”

She volunteered to collect signatures for the legalization ballot put out to voters in 2018 in hopes that others would be able to use cannabis as she did. “I am doing this because I think we need to make cannabis accessible to more people because it benefits everyone,” she said. metro times“It should be everyone’s right to use it,” she added.

But her journey into the cannabis industry was just beginning. Her advocacy grew and she later became vice-chairman of the Cannabis Caucus and Motor City where she also became vice-chairman of the Detroit chapter of NORML. She played a key role in commuting the sentence of Michael Thompson, who was convicted of cannabis crimes and survived 60 years in prison.

Fellow advocate Jamie Lowell said metro times At one point, Abbas had to quit cannabis to pass a drug test for her new job, but her seizures recurred. “She didn’t have another seizure after resuming. This was her powerful and surprising testimony.”

Speakers at a rally featuring Senator Bernie Sanders in Pontiac, Michigan on July 29 took a moment to mourn Abbas. called the “Warrior of the “Her heart was full of her love for the community. She had no reason why she didn’t take on… 100%,” she said Tlaib. “She was one of our biggest advocates for healthcare and access to alternative approaches, including cannabis…and she never gave up the fight. I know you are with us.”

Dr. Abdul El-Sayeda, who ran for Governor of Michigan in 2018, was also present and spoke about Abbas’ selfless efforts. “She took pain and used it to bring people together and fight for everything she was denied. She realized it could have been someone else,” Elcida said. “She decided to take that pain and make the world a better place.”

“Zahra didn’t have a lot of time, but she put all of herself into her time,” he added.