“I choose to break the law.” – Jimmy Morrison from Iowa Patients

Usually, he’s careful not to have it on him. The next cop may not be as compassionate, he said.

Morrison uses marijuana daily to treat a bipolar disorder, spending $10 to $20 a gram on the black market.

Buying on the black market, he fears for his safety. He said once he was mugged in Iowa while trying to buy marijuana. He also never knows exactly what he’s inhaling.

Morrison founded Iowa Patients for Medical Marijuana in 2009, deciding that legalizing the drug to where it could be sold in dispensaries as opposed to the black market would create a safer distribution system for patients.

Marijuana is a better alternative to anti-depressants, he said. He had been prescribed paroxetine, which left him feeling like a “zombie” and unable to work or study.

He tried marijuana in high school and started using it regularly during his freshman year at the University of Iowa after discovering he could use it to manage his bouts of mania and depression.

He said that as a result of using marijuana, he earned an entrepreneur certificate from the University of Iowa, painted houses and started a video production company.

With an entire network as well as a small business in Iowa, Morrison doesn’t want to leave the state.

“I choose to break the law,” he said.