CANCER VICTIM BACKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

Eleven years ago, I had Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic
system. It was so far advanced when I was finally diagnosed that I
started six months of chemotherapy literally the next day.

I was told that if I followed my doctor's orders to the letter, I'd
get through it. One of those orders seemed simple enough: eat. I'd
already lost 30 pounds just waiting for a diagnosis.

I was extremely ill for several days after each treatment, and the
effects grew cumulatively worse over time. Soon food became the
furthest thing from my mind. I knew I was in trouble after only the
third session.

So I called a friend - a local police officer, in fact - and asked him
where I could get some marijuana. I'd smoked it as a kid back in the
'60s. He laughed and told me to "ask anyone under 30."

I'd been coughing for months so smoking was out. I made a batch of
oatmeal/marijuana cookies and froze them. On bad days, half a cookie
had me ravenous within an hour.

Since then, I have shared my experience and my recipe with friends in
need. They've all reported the same results.

I am a normally law-abiding, taxpaying senior citizen. Breaking the
law was the furthest thing from my mind at the time - but, of course,
I was.

I would have much preferred that my oncologist be able to write me a
prescription so I wouldn't have to break the law. But I used it, it
worked and, trust me, it never occurred to me to continue using it
after it had done its job.

I love life. I barely have time to do everything I want to do, and
let's face it, marijuana does have a way of slowing you down. All I
know is marijuana (and a great oncologist) were instrumental in my
having had 11 more years of life and counting. What more can I say?

On March 25, the House passed HB 648, 234-138. If you can, I ask you
all to open your minds and listen to the pleas of terribly ill
patients who want this option legally available to them.

How can opiates be prescribed, but an appetite-inducing cookie can't
be? It just doesn't make sense.

My thanks to Reps. Evalyn Merrick, D-Lancaster, Thomas Donovan,
D-Claremont, James Pilliod, R-Belmont, and Trinka Russell, D-Stratham,
for sponsoring this bill.

Nancy Grossman

Portsmouth