LET IOWANS EASE THEIR PAIN WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA

George McMahon is afflicted with Nail Patella Syndrome, a rare
genetic disorder that causes abnormalities of joints, kidneys and
bones. It is sometimes detected when someone's kneecaps don't develop
or fingernails are missing. Many with the syndrome are also afflicted
with glaucoma.

McMahon has small kneecaps and no thumbnails and suffers from severe
pain, muscle spasms and nausea. In his 59 years, he's been
hospitalized repeatedly, undergone nearly 20 major surgeries and has
had five "near death" experiences.

"I'm pretty screwed up," he said.

Few would consider this Iowan fortunate in matters of health.

But he has been fortunate to get the medical treatment he needs: marijuana.

McMahon is a participant in the Compassionate Care IND
(Investigational New Drug) program. Created by the federal government
in 1978, it has allowed people with certain medical conditions to use
marijuana for treatment. In 1992, after many AIDS patients suffering
from wasting disease and appetite loss sought use of the drug through
the program, the George H.W. Bush administration closed it to new applicants.

McMahon is now among only a few Americans allowed medically
supervised marijuana therapy through the program. Each month, he
receives 300 marijuana cigarettes, grown and sent to him by the
federal government. Smoking it alleviates his painful, debilitating
muscle spasms. It helps him sleep through the night.

McMahon knows he's fortunate to be able to use a stigmatized drug for
medical treatment.

"I'm in the best position," he said. Other sick people should be able
to use the drug too, he said.

That's why he signed on as a plaintiff in a recent lawsuit about the
classification of marijuana in Iowa. This state considers marijuana a
Schedule I controlled substance - putting it among the most tightly
regulated drugs under state law. The American Civil Liberties Union
of Iowa filed a lawsuit arguing the drug was incorrectly categorized
because it did not meet the statutory requirement of having "no
accepted medical use treatment in the United States."

The ACLU noted that at least 13 other states allow people - including
those with AIDS, cancer and glaucoma - to legally use the drug for
medical purposes.

On April 24, a Polk County judge ruled the Iowa Pharmacy Board must
examine whether the drug is properly classified. According to Randall
Wilson, the attorney who handled the case for the ACLU, after the
board makes a determination, it must then recommend proper
categorization to the Iowa Legislature.

The ruling doesn't legalize marijuana for medical use in Iowa. Even
the findings and recommendations of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy won't
have any impact on the legality of its medical use.

But the ruling opens the door for this state to have a serious
conversation about allowing ill Iowans access to marijuana for
medical treatment. The Legislature would have to pass a law - as
other states have done - to decriminalize its use for medical treatment.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, tried to do that earlier this year. He
proposed legislation calling for creating "compassion centers,"
nonprofit organizations that would cultivate and distribute the drug
to approved patients. The bill died due to lack of support.

Next session it should be revived - and passed. Just as lawmakers and
voters in other states have done, Iowa should allow sick people
access to what may be the most effective drug to help them.

Even state approval would not make the drug "legal" by federal
standards, according to Wilson, but the Obama administration has said
it will not go after sick Americans using pot for treatment.

For McMahon, that treatment means smoking about half a joint an hour
- - a total of about 10 marijuana cigarettes a day. It helps more than
any drug he has been prescribed, and it allowed him to work as a
laborer in his younger years. He said he doesn't have to use it if he
doesn't need it. But if he wants to garden or pain wakes him up in
the middle of the night, he may smoke a little more.

"It depends on the night and the symptoms," he said.

And when shipments have been late, he knows what it's like to go
without the drug. The pain is bad, starting in his joints and
spreading: "It overwhelms me," he said.

What he finds equally difficult: hearing from people who suffer from
"every kind of unimaginable pain" and don't have the option of using
marijuana for treatment. He's met people with multiple sclerosis and
neurological problems who are "scared to death" of breaking the law.
Their doctors are scared to recommend pot, too.

Iowans shouldn't have to be scared. They shouldn't have to choose
between breaking the law and getting a treatment that may help them.