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AMERICA'S WEED RUSH

Preview: Oregon man suffering seizures finds hope
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Preview: Oregon man suffering seizures finds hope

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Tom Zakaras started performing at age 11. After he suffered a stroke in 2005, he had to relearn how to use the left side of his body. With the help of medical cannabis, he said he is starting to see a future once more. (Photo by Kathryn Boyd-Batstone/News21)
Tom Zakaras started performing at age 11. After he suffered a stroke in 2005, he had to relearn how to use the left side of his body. With the help of medical cannabis, he said he is starting to see a future once more. (Photo by Kathryn Boyd-Batstone/News21)

News21’s Kathryn Boyd-Batstone and Nick Swyter traveled to Oregon to report on the changing cannabis scene there. They interviewed people whose lives have been impacted by marijuana.

The reporters caught up with one of those people, Tom Zakaras, who lives with a service dog in a one-bedroom home in McMinnville, about 40 miles outside of Portland.

In 2005, Zakaras suffered from a stroke, which was followed by a series of seizures.

He said marijuana has improved his life: “I am more optimistic about my future today than I was three years ago. And I think maybe there is one.”

Here’s a preview of his story: