Aurelio Nazario

Long Island, NY

A father of three who lives in Island Park, Aurelio is 53 years old. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) 19 years ago. Aurelio describes himself as “old school” — he was brought up to be law-abiding and will not violate the law even though he disagrees with it. But he feels strongly that since the research shows that medical marijuana can alleviate the symptoms for a wide range of conditions and diseases, including MS, it should be available to those who want to use it. He says, “if it were legal, I would try it myself.”

Aurelio suffers from relapse-remitting MS which is characterized by flare-ups followed by periods of remission. At this point in the course of his illness, he has difficulty with balance and uses a cane to get around. He fatigues easily and can walk only a few blocks before having to rest. In addition, his speech has been affected, and he sometimes stammers or can’t find the words he’s looking for. He is grateful that his illness is progressing very slowly, but he also knows that he can experience a significant exacerbation of his symptoms at any time. He would like to know that using medical marijuana legally is an option for him in the future if he should need it.