Many people, including Michael Vallelly, have commented intelligently on
marijuana's medical uses ["We're Talking About Medicine," Free for All,
Oct. 4]. However, I have never read any statements that have addressed the
heart of the issue. I am not familiar with the dosage-control benefits of
smoked marijuana, but the advantage of an inhaled medication over oral
medication for ailments causing continued nausea and vomiting is obvious.
How can a patient who is vomiting benefit from any pill that ends up in the
toilet only minutes later?

In the 1970s I was associated with a teaching hospital and medical school
that had a contract to study marijuana's effects on chemotherapy patients.
Nothing I saw and no report I read contraindicated the appropriate use of
this drug in its smoked form.

I note the panic on the East Coast surrounding this strange substance. In
my home state of New Mexico, folk healers, or curanderas, and laymen have
used it beneficially for centuries, and they will probably be using it
centuries from now. It's time that we develop sensible policies regarding
its use and distribution.

Ellen F. Glover
Manassas