Letter writer W. D. Allen Sr. should seek out more information before
commenting on a subject he obviously is terribly misinformed about
(McWilliams had option for alternative medicine, Letters, June 30).

Peter McWilliams' use of marijuana was not for the "ethical relief of
pain." McWilliams used marijuana to suppress nausea brought about by
taking the "cocktail" of prescription drugs necessary to sustain his
life while suffering from AIDS and cancer.

Without marijuana he would vomit up his prescriptions within a short
period of time after taking them, rendering them virtually
ineffective. The use of Marinol is effective about a third of the
time, at best, but still would not help much in allowing his
life-saving drugs to help keep down his "viral load".

Not that using Marinol even mattered, as McWilliams was also
prohibited from using that drug so that his court-ordered weekly drug
testing could determine if he was using marijuana. When McWilliams
was able to use marijuana as a medicine, he was able to take his
prescriptions and keep them within his system without vomiting.

R.L. Root