ON THE SIDE OF COMPASSION

READING Sandy Banks' column (Opinion, May 29) about the agony of Lyn
Nofzinger's daughter during the final weeks of her life moved me to
tears. We, as a society, refused this women a drug that has been used
safely by hundreds of millions people, a drug that, had she more of
it, would have allowed her to enjoy eating more of her last meals in
the company of her family.

Easier access to marijuana would have eased her pain and elevated her
mood so that more of her final conversations might have contained
laughter and shared smiles. It would have allowed her to feel happier
and more content during the end of her sadly shortened life, and her
comfort would have eased the agony of her loved ones.

The idea that people are morally required to suffer is ridiculous, as
is the idea that keeping marijuana from desperately ill people
benefits society. Marijuana is an extraordinarily cheap and safe drug.
If smoking it makes a person's final weeks more bearable, then let's
make sure she has all she wants. To do otherwise seems cruel.

John W. Olver,
San Jose