ROR POLIAC, 42, ARAPAHOE COUNTY

Twice now, Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies have stopped Ror Poliac and
found marijuana in his car.

Twice they have handed him back his pot and let him go.

A way with words? Just plain lucky? No, Poliac carries a note from his
doctor for just such occasions.

Poliac, who has chronic, progressive multiple sclerosis, is a living
example of how a medical marijuana system might work in Colorado.

His physician, he says, recognizes how pot quiets the spasticity in his leg
muscles, boosts his appetite and helps him sleep through the buzz of the 30
prescription pills he has to take daily. The doctor's handwritten note
indicates Poliac has his permission to smoke the marijuana.

But because marijuana remains illegal in Colorado, the officers still could
have busted Poliac for possession. For that reason, he doesn't flaunt his
unofficial pot prescription.

In fact, when he calls friends about buying marijuana, they use code words
over the phone lines - phrases like "I'm going to the green house'' or "Do
you have any cans of green paint?'' "It seems ludicrous to have to go to
that extent for my medication,'' says Poliac, 42.

For about 10 years, the MS has slowly stolen Poliac's ability to walk on
beaches, to dance and to hike. He now uses a wheelchair. As his paralysis
worsened, he found that a nightly dose of marijuana gave him the energy he
needed to fight the illness.

"Ten puffs and I'm fine,'' Poliac says. "They're always saying we shouldn't
cut down all the rain forests because maybe some tree has the cure for
cancer or AIDS . . . Well, this could be my plant in the Amazon. Who
knows?''

Checked-by: Richard Lake