ROBERT RANDALL, WHO SUED FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA, IS DEAD AT 53

SARASOTA, Fla., Robert Randall, to whom a court gave access
to government supplies of marijuana to treat his glaucoma in 1976,
died on Saturday at his home here. He was 53 and still smoking
government marijuana.

The cause was AIDS-related complications.

A Federal District Court ruled 25 years ago that Mr. Randall's use of
marijuana was a medical necessity. Two years later, the government cut
off his access to the drug, but he sued for reinstatement and won.

Mr. Randall developed glaucoma in his teens. An ophthalmologist told
him in the early 1970's that he would go blind within a few years. He
never lost his sight.

He grew his own marijuana until he was prosecuted. He then underwent
exhaustive tests that indicated that no other glaucoma drug halted the
deterioration of his eyesight. He used that argument in demanding
legal access to government marijuana.

In 1981, Mr. Randall and his wife, Alice, founded ACT, Alliance for
Cannabis Therapeutics, an organization that sought to legalize the
medicinal use of marijuana.

On May 14, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal law controlling
narcotics makes no exception for therapeutic use of the drug.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Randall is survived by a sister, Susan,
and a brother, Dick, both of Sarasota.