CHELMSFORD MAN PRAISES THE HEALING HERB

Barry Burkholder places his hands on the kitchen table of his
Chelmsford home.

They resemble, at first glance, the bent, gnarled roots of a
tree.

Reddish, chapped and disfigured, they are like most of the bones
in the 34-year-old's body racked with excruciating pain every day
of his life. When he forces them to move, his fingers creak and crack
as though he is rolling several marbles between his hands.

But in a few moments, something quite surprising happens. Burkholder
lights a cannabis cigarette and takes two quick drags inhaling
deeply, holding the smoke in his lungs before exhaling with a long,
soothing sign of relief. His aching fingers become more flexible; his
pain is relieved.

Wherever there is cartilage in my body, there is constant pain,
says Burkholder, who suffers from chronic arthritis, clinical
depression and hepatitis C.

Pot, he and some medical experts say, relieves the symptoms of all of
his various physical and emotional afflictions.

Sometimes, I tell my wife that my feet hurt so bad, I'd like to cut
them right off, Burkholder says. But within a few minutes after
taking my `medicine,' my pain goes away and I'm able to carrying on my
daily chores.

Although Burkholder has a history of self-destructive behaviour, pot
despite its reputation as a brain-squelching substance is
decidedly non-destructive to his body and mind, he says.

I've been an addictive person most of my life, Burkholder says.
I was drunk or stoned most of the time. Pills, alcohol, cocaine,
acid, mushrooms anything I could get my hands on. I loved
pharmaceuticals, especially. You know, prescription drugs.

But I've finally cleaned myself up. I've been sober and drug-free
for three years. I've got a beautiful wife, children and a new home. I
even found God. I mean, things are good, and I want to live a good
life for as long as I have left. The pot helps me deal with my pain so
I can enjoy my life more. It does wonders.

But wonder drug or not, pot is still illegal in this country, and that
was made blatantly clear to Burkholder last September when he was
arrested and charged with the offense of possession for the purpose of
trafficking. To him, his supply of pot oil was a pain-killer; to
the law, it was an illegal drug.

A lot of people who use cannabis for medical purposes have been
arrested, Burkholder says. The police came right into my home
and charged me.

I mean, should my children have to face the chance of losing their
daddy because he was using the one thing that made him feel better,
the one thing that wouldn't make him an addict again? It's just not
fair.

It was after being arrested that Burkholder discovered, for the first
time, a national network of organizations, lawyers and politicians who
are fighting to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes.

Burkholder jumped at the opportunity for assistance and to be a part
of their cause.

He started his own page on the Internet www.legalize.com/herbgarden/burkie
to publicize his situation.

He asked his doctor to write a letter on his behalf to the
Compassionate Cannabis Club of Sturgeon Falls, an organization which
provides medical marijuana to people suffering from serious ailments.

Witnessing Burkholder's somewhat miraculous pain relief would give
even an anti-pot purist pause for thought. Maybe there are legitimate
healing properties in the stinky weed.

Dr. Beverly Potter's book The Healing Magic of Cannabis makes
grandiose claims for the healing herb.

Potter says pot has a soothing, even a restorative effect on
arthritis, back pain, asthma, depression, epilepsy, glaucoma,
insomnia, menstrual cramps, migraine headaches and multiple sclerosis
to name a few.

The knowledge of these healing wonders is nothing new. Marijuana has
been smoked or consumed for centuries as a natural medication, the
book suggests. Activists are pressuring federal Health Minister Allan
Rock to enact legislation which will legalize pot use for medical purposes.

They cite doctors and researchers who claim the drug is non-toxic,
non-addictive, does not cause crime, has no potential for harm or
danger, and does not lead to the use of stronger drugs.

Doctors such as Lester Grinspoon of the Harvard Medical School in
Cambridge, Mass., argue that, in time, marijuana may ultimately turn
out to be a very important medicine, especially for people suffering
from arthritis and rheumatic diseases that debilitate people like Burkholder.

For Burkholder, who does not want to use addictive drugs, it is his
only medicine.