OPEN YOUR MIND TO MEDICINAL MARIJUANA USE

Dear Editor: I am writing today regarding having an open mind,
compassion and embracing change. Former Rep. Gregg Underheim of Oshkosh
proposed legislation that would have legalized marijuana for medicinal
purposes in Wisconsin in 2005. It did not pass.

Underheim himself, while fighting prostate cancer, met other patients
who had benefited greatly from its effects, especially those dealing
with chemotherapy.

A common argument against marijuana is that smoking is bad, and it is.
The truth is that marijuana is fat-soluble and can be consumed in less
harmful ways, such as eating it.

A drug called Marinol, which is a synthetic form of marijuana, is
already on the market.

While the recreational use of marijuana is controversial, it is
necessary that we realize the medicinal benefits of this herb. It is
cruel, ignorant and unsympathetically intolerant that the people of
the United States as well as their government would deny people in
pain access to a medicine/plant/herb that works.

Although there is no legislation pending in Wisconsin, I encourage
everyone who reads this to imagine themselves having chronic pain that
will not go away, or being nauseated from chemotherapy. Ask yourself
if you would want access to marijuana if it would allow you to live a
comfortable day-to-day life or if you were facing your last days here
on Earth.

Tyler Zellmer,

Oshkosh