EDITORIAL NOTEBOOK: NOTES FROM A FUNERAL

A . . . time to weep, and a time to laugh . . .

ASIDE from the reading of Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, there was little about Ralph
Seeley's memorial service last Saturday that could be characterized as
traditional. The 49-year-old Tacoma lawyer who died of rare bone cancer was
an untraditional man: Navy officer who worked on a nuclear sub, newspaper
columnist, pilot, cellist, fly fisher, civil- rights advocate, proponent of
medical marijuana.

Among the mourners who spoke at his funeral were a hemp activist, a pair of
University of Puget Sound law professors, a cello teacher, a state senator,
and a state Supreme Court justice who had never met him. They all spoke
passionately about the diverse interests they shared with Seeley. They
talked about his humor, his stubbornness, his intellect and his pain.

A pilot remembered soaring over the Pacific Northwest with Seeley; a
horse-riding buddy recalled long, peaceful trips with him before the cancer
claimed Seeley's spine. With a smile on her face and tears in her eyes, a
nurse imagined the combative Seeley bickering with St. Paul in heaven.

Those who oppose legalization of medical marijuana have dismissed the
movement's members as one-dimensional buffoons looking for a quick and easy
high. They argue that sick patients are better off using narcotics or
synthetic marijuana pills. They claim these patients are being used by
wealthy out-of-state millionaires pushing a radical drug-legalization agenda.

Nobody used Ralph Seeley. I remember sitting next to him during the taping
of a public-affairs show last year. I will not forget his labored breath,
his frail finger stabbing the air as he spoke against the callousness of
the war on drugs. He broke awkward silences by citing reams of scientific
data about the effectiveness of medical marijuana. He convinced me that
nobody is better off when government policies make criminals out of men and
women seeking self-determination, dignity and a little relief.

This quest for truth and justice was not a 30-minute, made-for-TV
performance. It was - as his many friends, loved ones, and distant admirers
will always celebrate - Ralph Seeley's life.

- Michelle Malkin