WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?

Dr. Kathleen Boyle of the UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center has a problem.

The social psychologist began a two-year study last July on the use of
medical marijuana by people with AIDS. The university-funded project seeks
to document both the satisfaction (or not) of med-mar users and their
issues and concerns. The hitch is that Dr. Boyle can’t find anyone who’s
used it and says it doesn’t work for them.

Boyle has been holding focus groups with members of three groups: the Los
Angeles Cannabis Resource Center (a local cannabis club) as well as Being
Alive and the Women Alive Coalition, two community-based AIDS
organizations. She’s found that patients find pot wonderfully efficacious
for relieving nausea due to drug therapy and pain management, and adds that
"they also notice a psychological benefit, i.e., relief of depression and
anxiety." The primary concerns of users are driving after medicating, the
potential side effects of smoking any substance and, not surprisingly,
getting busted. Although medical weed is technically legal in California
with a doctor’s recommendation, that hasn’t stopped law enforcement from
arresting sick people.

While Boyle placed an announcement in the AIDS Project Los Angeles
newsletter and put up signs at the community orgs, not one dissatisfied
customer has stepped forward. "It would lead you to the conclusion that
everyone who’s tried it has liked it," says Boyle. "I don’t think that’s
possible. There’s nothing that everybody likes or works for everybody. I’m
reluctant to come to that conclusion. I feel like if I hand in a report
that says it works for everybody, it would be unbelievable."

If you have AIDS, have tried medical marijuana, and it ain’t, shall we say,
your bowl of tea, you can reach Dr. Boyle at (888) 333-1764, Ext. 241.