BROWNIE MARY'S LEGACY

The crusade started small. A grandmotherly volunteer baked marijuana-laced
brownies for patients in the AIDS ward at San Francisco General Hospital.

Mary Jane Rathbun, who died at 77 this week, believed her "Magically
Delicious" goods eased nausea and discomfort and to heck with the law. She
was busted three times for her baking, and a San Francisco judge in one
instance sentenced her, fittingly enough, to more community service.

Brownie Mary became a local heroine, a friendly face for a growing movement.
The belief that she and others had in the medical use of marijuana
engendered a political groundswell.

In 1996 California voters approved the notion of allowing the sick to use
marijuana. Since then, the hard details of control and sale have hit legal
obstructions that will take time to work out.

It isn't always the job of society's critics to find the exact solutions to
painful problems. Raising the issue and marching forward can be enough.

For many suffering patients, marijuana -- baked or smoked -- can ease the
pain of illness. It would be a fitting legacy if a workable solution could
be found to passing out Brownie Mary's goods to those who need it.