Despite Prescription, Guest With Medical Condition Denied Entrance to Theme Park - Inside the Magic

Comments for Despite Prescription, Guest With Medical Condition Denied Entrance to Theme Park

Credit: Blackpool Pleasure Beach

36 Comments

  1. Above your pay grade

    I think a god damn glorified carnival has no business involving itself in medical matters.

    1. Stickie

      Well, given that they’re legally responsible for the health and wellbeing of their visitors while they’re at the park, the “god damn glorified carnival,” is indeed *obliged* to involve itself in “medical matters,” in EXACTLY the same way that any and every other private business has to.
      As much as we all should have the right to be allowed access to medication prescribed to us by our doctors, we don’t (and shouldn’t) have the right to force any bystanders to take it with us.

  2. Kat

    Oh I think someone will be sued over something like this . He was right in the comparisons

    1. Stickie

      Hmm – no, not really.
      Asthma and diabetes are potentially life threatening problems while anxiety, as severe and unpleasant as it may be, isn’t.
      Medicating asthma and diabetes doesn’t involve *forcing* any bystanders to share the medication with you either.
      A prescription, no matter which particular drug is involved, does *not* bestow special rights and privileges upon the bearer, nor does it allow them to ignore and defy rules which everyone else is still expected to follow.

  3. Chris

    Out here in California, even if you have a prescription, you are only allowed to use Marijuana/Canabis INSIDE your own home. People don’t always follow the rules, but theme parks and other places do prevent you from bringing it in under any circumstances, so this policy aligns and makes sense to me.

    1. Liz

      It makes sense to me too. If this person was concerned they may need to medicate while at the theme park, they could have just consumed an edible.

      1. Mc

        Edibles are not quick acting. Which is why he didn’t bring any.

        1. Stickie

          Perhaps a little more forward planning and consideration might be in order next time then?

      2. JC Aghia

        Edibles would have been a better choice for this particular outing. Though they take much longer to kick in. It’s better than going without. In which case if think edibles and taking preemptive measures throughout his day.
        Still I think in the near future these parks may need to rethink their outdated policies. Things they are a changing. Gotta keep up with the times.

        1. Stickie

          Setting dried up plants on fire and breathing in the smoke is BAD for you, and everyone else around you.
          That’s not going to change, or be thought of as ‘outdated,’ no matter how much time passes.

  4. spookiewon

    As an insulin dependent diabetic I will say the comparison is spot on. That’s exactly what it’s like. People also aren’t familiar with the needles and stuff we use and I’ve had parents tell me to stop that because they don’t want their kids to see me injecting “drugs.”

    Were a child to find and use my insulin, it would be far more deadly than the medical cannabis. No one in history has ever overdosed on cannabis. Injecting insulin you don’t need will kill you quickly.

    1. Jeff

      Requiring insulin and smoking on a beach are two separate things. When you take insulin the whole beach doesn’t smell like it. No one else can get a contact high off your insulin. Not at all comparable.

      1. Mo

        Public places are required to have sharps biohazard disposal units for used insulin needles so they should be required to have smoking rooms on-site for medical cannabis users that prevent the concern you are expressing. Parks should not be deciding these issues for people with medical conditions. This also speaks to the importance of legislation and regulation to protect equitable access to resources for all.

        1. Elle Jay

          Most places have made smoking illegal specifically because of the health risks associated with secondhand smoke. While cannabis smoke isn’t quite as poisonous as nicotine, there are still very real risks involved with inhaling any type of smoke and the fact that anyone prescribed medical marijuana can take it in forms that are not toxic to their own lungs and the lungs of those around them pretty much guarantees that “smoking rooms” are never going to be a legal necessity for medical merijuana use.

          Truthfully, if it ever gets properly studied and regulated on a federal level, what you are likely to see is a pill or a shot with the active chemicals distilled down and prescribed through a regular pharmacy.

        2. Jessica

          I completely agree. I’m a medical marijuana user and I already purchased passes to a theme park. It’s been years since I’ve been to a theme park and upon looking it up of course they have medical detectors so I cannot bring in my medical marijuana, I don’t use edibles because they make me feel weird and give me anxiety I just vape/smoke it. It works best for me for my several anxiety/panic attacks and chronic pain as it works very quickly. I would never do it in someone’s face , however I am so tired of these double standards not recognizing it as medication and having areas one who’s prescribe it can use it. If I bring in my anxiety pills it will take 30mins to kick in in which I could faint etc from lack of being able to breathe normal when my anxiety and PTSD kicks in, however my marijuana when I smoke it works pretty instantly. It’s helped me be able to actually go out and live life as I had angoraphobia before, I now can leave the house, but I usually have my meds on me. Now knowing I have to go a theme park and be in crowds all day and can’t bring it makes me feel anxious in itself. 😔😔

  5. Yousaid

    Firstly Blackpool pleasure beach don’t have time to search everyone entering. This individual was picked out for a reason

    1. Stickie

      When did *you* last visit?
      EVERYONE gets searched, and for good reason too.

  6. Liz

    He should have planned ahead & consumed an edible. He gets to stay medicated without disrupting anyone else.

    1. Stickie

      He also could have easily phoned the place the day before and discussed the matter too.
      It would have been simple enough to figure out some kind of arrangement that would have been acceptable to everyone – Or, if the park insisted on sticking rigidly to their rules and refused to consider whether there was enough wiggle room to come to an accommodation, at least he would have known that it would be a waste of time to go.
      Forward planning and being prepared are ALWAYS good ideas.

  7. Deb

    This guy obviously ASKED if it was OK. I’m a medical marijuana patient and NEVER volunteer my status. All you have to do is discreetly excuse yourself to a restroom. Medicate and leave. Don’t flaunt it and nobody knows. Why tell anyone your medical status? And YES I’ve done this while at WDW.

    1. Jessica

      Don’t metal detectors sense the medical marijuana vapes? I’m a medical marijuana user and vape it as edibles just make me feel weird and I’m going to a theme park this week and anxious thinking about the fact I can’t have it on me in case I get severe anxiety and a panic attack .

  8. Brenna

    I’ve never seen someone out in public injecting insulin..diabetes is something you keep a close eye on and maintain usually at home.. so why would it be ok to “medicate” with marijuana outside your home..even medically it’s to b done inside your home.. I agree with the edibles ..he knew he was going to a park full of kids..plan accordingly ..I would never be okay and stand by nonchalantly at a theme park with my 7 yr old while someone lit up ..js 🤷🏽‍♀️ I’m with the park on this one..

    1. Scott

      Honestly, if someone needs it as a medication, they should be allowed in with it. “Think of the children” is a pathetic excuse used by the brain-dead who cannot reason a real argument.

      1. Tim H.

        I don’t think any place has a right to deny entry to someone regardless of what their prescription is…obviously its needed!

        1. Stickie

          He *wasn’t* denied entry because of what his prescription was.
          He was denied entry because he gave the impression that he intended to bring the stuff *into* the park and smoke it while there.
          Smoking is banned in most places for a very good reason.
          A prescription, no matter how necessary, does not grant him special rights, or privileges, or allow him to break, defy or ignore rules that everyone else is expected to follow.
          It’s THEIR house, so THEIR rules apply – anyone who doesn’t like that fact … well … they can go somewhere else, can’t they?

      2. Stickie

        Given how harmful second hand smoke can be, *particularly* to young people, it’s hardly “pathetic” to ‘think of the children’ in a case like this.
        Setting dried up plant matter on fire and inhaling the smoke is BAD for you. That’s as real an argument as necessary here.
        The guy has the right to take his medication to help him deal with his problems, but he does NOT have the right to force any bystanders to take it with him.

    2. StonerGal

      Just because you’ve never seen it does not mean it has not happened. It is not an only at hone med. Niether is. My spouse is diabetic and has used his medicine while in wdw, and many other parks. As I have used my medical cannabis in parks as well. Your 7y won’t know the difference. Only you would. My kids did not even realize I use it til I told them when they were 18. Yes, one can be that stealth with it. Grow up. It’s medicine.

      1. Stickie

        “Grow up. It’s medicine.”

        So is heroin,
        and cocaine, and methamphetamine, and fentanyl, and MDMA.
        So what?
        Your kids probably wouldn’t recognise them,
        or know them for what they were. Would that make it okay for me to take any of that right in front of them?
        His prescription does not grant him special rights or privileges, or allow him to defy or ignore rules that everyone else is expected to follow – Rules which, as a matter of fact, exist for pretty damned good reasons.

    3. Rollller Coasterrrr Lovvvver

      @Brenna – you said, “something you usually maintain at home”. *NO*. Type 1 diabetes (I’ve had it since childhood) = body doesn’t make insulin. Injections must be taken throughout the entire day–particularly before eating. Blood sugar level must be checked all day. Some of us use/wear insulin pumps (a tiny needle stays in skin 2-3 days). Its tiny delivery tube sometimes suddenly gets blocked…adhesive around needle sometimes stops sticking on a hot sweaty day …needle might get pulled out on rare occasion…pump needs to be refilled…and so on. A 24/7, all-day thing. You had no business discussing something with which you are completely unfamiliar.

      ALL medications must be allowed ALL the time for ALL conditions. Designating an area/creating a system to accommodate = the parks have done it before (e.g., wheelchair accessibility, signs in braille, etc.), they can do it again.

  9. Tammy

    Still illegal at federal level. The park can enforce their rules.

  10. Ella

    I have friends that are insulin dependent and my sister also who was, since passed away. I have never, seen them or anyone else used insulin in public. They go to the restroom. I do not think that using medical marijuana in public is okay. Ever. if he has anxiety attacks to that degree the PTSD then maybe he needs to come up with a plan b? My granddaughter is 13years old and knows what marijuana is and what it smells like. So yeah, no. Use a gummy. I do not want her thinking it’s okay to use marijuana or any other drug. She has no idea nor does anyone else watching know that that’s a medical issue. Find another way to handle that in a very public place especially with children around. But even so everybody doesn’t want to smell your medication or have it be a part of their hair or clothing. And don’t tell me it doesn’t, because I know better

  11. Ks

    I’d be more likely to go to this park now, knowing I and my loved ones will be safe from exposure to that stinky smoke. Anytime I’m near it I get dizzy and disoriented. But from reading the other comments, I’m starting to wonder if this is just so new of an issue that we don’t understand it. For instance, if there were separate rooms (with a *good* vent fan) set up near each restroom where smokers could quickly excuse themselves to go smoke, and nobody else had to breathe it in, that could work for the rest of us. But if someone can claim medical necessity to just light up while standing in line next to the rest of us, they’d be risking an angry mob all wanting to dump our sodas on him. (Legal excuse: I have a medical allergy to smoke and needed to douse that asap for my health and safety). Wouldn’t his PTSD increase if he is constantly the offensive pariah that we all want ejected from the park?

    1. Tina

      Wow, I never heard it put that way. I think you just may have changed my mind some. I agree with the separate areas. That’s a great idea.

  12. Tina

    How dare they ask him what it was for? HIPPA laws say you can’t ask for someone’s private medical information. I’m sure they will sue. I am someone without extensive cannibus knowledge, but maybe check into the edibles variety? Not for the sake of the park. For the sake of the gentleman. So maybe the next time he won’t have to endure the ignorance. Also the comparison to the inhaler was on point. I’m sorry this happened to you sir.

    1. Lia

      HIPPA is a United States law. This occurred in the UK. Not sure how their laws work regarding this type of thing.

  13. Trump 2020

    Worthless pothead idiot.

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