Ken Unger, Navy Veteran, Says He Was Growing Marijuana for Medicinal Use

Ken Unger says he didn’t want to be a “morphine addict.” He came up with an alternative: Grow marijuana in his home to use medicinally. Unfortunately, Missouri isn’t a progressive place willing to let people like, say, a Navy veteran such as Unger, use pot to manage his pain.

Unger told KSHB Channel 41 that he uses marijuana to treat chronic pain caused by an accident during a 1983 tour of duty. Now he’s facing felony charges of growing marijuana at his St. Charles home — but he’s not denying the charges.

“Yes, I was growing marijuana, and I was growing it for my own personal consumption,” Unger told the TV station. “I feel like I’m totally trapped. I’m not allowed to do anything for pain relief other than be a morphine addict, and I don’t want to be a morphine addict.”

Unger is getting no sympathy from prosecutors.

“It’s illegal. It’s flat-out illegal. There’s no exception to it,” Jack Banas told KSHB. “We’re not a state that has any kind of defense to it such as a medical defense.”

The good news for Unger is that Green Aid, a marijuana legal-action group, is stepping up to help him fight the charges, which could send him to prison for five to 15 years. That’d be a helluva thank you for a man who served his country.