ARKANSANS CLAIM MARIJUANA IS POWERFUL MEDICINE

The debate in Arkansas about medical benefits from marijuana often focuses
on scientific evidence, legal ramifications and moral questions, while those
who have used the herb for medicine are frequently forgotten.

"Kim Jones," a retired Fayetteville registered nurse, uses marijuana daily
to ease the pain caused by a series of auto accidents.

"It gets me through my day," she explained.

Like many other marijuana users, Jones fears prosecution for her marijuana
smoking, and asked that her real identity not be revealed.

An accident crushed her pelvis and took a portion of her left foot confining
Jones to a wheelchair for a period.

After a series of surgeries, she is now able to walk up to six hours each
day, but said without marijuana to ease the pain and relax her muscles, even
limited mobility would not be possible.

While Jones acknowledged there are many prescription narcotics on the market
she could take for pain relief, they are expensive with serious side effects
she would rather avoid.

Though she stopped using marijuana when she was pregnant, her usual dosage
of the medicine entails smoking about four marijuana joints a day in
combination with hot baths.

Jones said there is nothing wrong with her choice of medication, and those
who think marijuana is evil are misinformed.

There is an education gap between the medical community and the public as
well, she added. If doctors truly informed the public about the benefits of
marijuana, the tide would turn and marijuana could become more acceptable as
well as legal.

Unable to work due to her disability, with the help of friends Jones spends
her time caring for her 1 year-old and keeping the house in order. "That's
enough," she said, as even with marijuana's help she tires easily and rests
often.

Many similar tales exist in Washington County, and even law enforcement
officials say terminally ill and chronic pain sufferers should have every
available medication.

Springdale Police Chief Mikel Blocker said while he opposes marijuana use in
general, he is all for patients receiving whatever is necessary to relieve
pain.

Moreover, he did not dismiss outright the attempt by the Alliance for Reform
of Drug Policy in Arkansas to make medical marijuana legal in the state.

"If sufficient medical evidence can show a significant role in reducing pain
and suffering, and they closely scrutinize how it is administered, I'm all
for it," he explained.

Regulation is going to be the key to any medical marijuana effort, he added
Other officials seem to agree.

Fourth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Terry Jones said since 1991 he
has seen about three cases where people charged with marijuana possession
were using the drug for legitimate medical purposes. Out of respect for
their conditions, prosecutors have the discretion to refuse to pursue
charges against them, he said.

As for the state's medical marijuana ballot initiatives, Jones said, if
legitimate medical uses are found "go for it."

The Fayetteville Police Department has also been known to look the other way
when discovering marijuana was used for medication.

On Friday, police responded to a call in south Fayetteville where a man was
questioned for supposedly smelling like marijuana.

The suspect admitted having marijuana, but explained to detectives it was
used to combat Tourrette's syndrome, an ailment causing uncontrollable vocal
outbursts in a person.

After searching the car, officers simply forced the suspect to dump the
small amount of marijuana on the ground, and let the man leave unimpeded.

"What a testament to their compassion," the man explained, "that they would
let me go when they learned I had Tourette's."

Yet some area residents have not fared well in court, even with prosecutor's
discretion.

In January, Ellis Kendall Parsons, 46, pleaded guilty to growing eight
marijuana plants.

He claimed they were being grown to ease the suffering of his wife who was
dying from cancer.

However, such excuses were not acceptable as a defense.

When sentencing Parsons, Circuit Judge William Storey said, "Although it
seemed to be for a worthy purpose, it's still a serious violation of the
law. As bad as your situation is, or anyone else's situation, in the future
you just can't do this."

Betty Wicker also knows the legal consequences of using medicinal marijuana
in a state where it's still an illegal drug for any purpose.

In August, Fayetteville police arrested Wicker and her boyfriend for
marijuana possession.

Her boyfriend was sentenced to three years in prison, while Wicker was given
three years probation.

Although she told Storey the marijuana was used to fight debilitating
cerebral palsy symptoms, he said she would need to find another effective
method to manage the condition.

Wicker, 42, shakes uncontrollably from head to foot, making simple
conversation difficult.

Wicker said she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in 1993, which doctors
believe could have been caused by a head injury she suffered when falling
from a horse as a teenager.

Before being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she said, doctors misidentified
the symptoms as "bad nerves," and prescribed various pharmaceuticals for the
problem.

When a Walnut Ridge doctor correctly identified her condition, he said she
had three options. Undergo brain surgery which could kill her, take 21 pills
each day which could also kill her, or smoke marijuana.

In fact, Wicker said, the doctor specifically instructed her to not stop
smoking or she would wind up in a wheelchair within six months.

Yet due to the court ordered probation Wicker is forced to take urinalysis
tests each week, and to avoid legal trouble, has discontinued smoking
marijuana.

"Guess I'm gonna find out if the doctor was right," she said sadly. While
she could resume morphine therapy, Wicker said reliance on the addictive
drug is not pleasant.

"I want to be able to live," she said, "and know what's going on around me.
With morphine, I can't."

"The government officials are not the medical experts," Wicker said, "They
should let doctors decide if marijuana would help. Why else would we have
doctors?"

For now, because of the court fines and her disability, Wicker cannot afford
rent and is living from couch to couch with friends.

Her seizures, which were limited to only two per month while smoking
marijuana, now strike once a week, leaving her temporarily crippled.
Unfortunately, she said, morphine seems to be the only option.

As a result of her troubles, Wicker supports the legalization effort under
way in the state.

"Hopefully this will get legalized before I'm dead," Wicker concluded. Some
local medical professionals agree.

Retired physician Dana Copp, who lives near Springdale, said he supports the
initiative effort because marijuana has a proven beneficial effect, and
patients should have access to any medication which could improve the
quality of their lives.

Marijuana has a stigma associated with it, he said, which prevents the
public from separating medical reality from the myths and hysteria caused by
ignorance.

Another retired physician, John Day, former Veterans Administration Medical
Center doctor and director of the University of Arkansas Heath Center in
Fayetteville, said social ills associated with tobacco and alcohol far
outweigh problems from marijuana, and thus continued prohibition is
senseless while those more harmful drugs remain legal.

"It's very difficult to kill a patient with marijuana," he said.

Yet many practicing physicians are unwilling to publicly voice their support
for medical marijuana, which Day says is a direct result of the nationwide
marijuana mania.

Judging by the numerous practicing physicians in the area who refused to
discuss the issue, his assessment seems correct.

Day said he accepts the criticism from colleagues for his views on medical
marijuana.

He stands fast in his convictions because, as he puts it, people should do
what they know is right, and ignore attacks from others.

Quality of life issues are also important to "David", a Fayetteville man who
has known he is HIV positive since 1991.

Although he does not smoke marijuana now, he has used it to augment
prescription drugs to keep his weight up, as the body needs mass to remain
healthy under HIV's incessant attack.

Originally from New Orleans, David said he witnessed first hand how
marijuana can benefit AIDS victims.

As a caretaker for two ailing men, David said, he saw marijuana work to
stimulate their appetites, as well as easing their minds in general.

If current medications began to fail, he said, or if he lost the government
subsidy and were forced to pay the $2,000 cost for monthly prescriptions, he
would again smoke marijuana for medicine.

However, David and the others all said the worst part of marijuana
prohibition is having to obtain medicine on the black market.

Even if the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas initiate to
legalize medical marijuana passes, patients will still be forced to obtain
seeds from illicit sources to grow the herb.

As Wicker put it, the worst part of her ordeal was not going to court, but
being labeled a felon because she attempted to control her condition with
medical marijuana.