PARALYZED KOUNTZE MAN PUSHES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

A 1985 diving accident at Village Creek left then-Kountze High School
junior Chris Cain paralyzed.

Now 39, Cain said he treats muscle spasms associated with the accident
with marijuana.

Prescription drugs, according to the Kountze resident, caused him to
feel zombie-like, or set his heart to racing.

"The doctors have put me on sedatives and different drugs. And for a
couple years, I couldn't work, I couldn't think and couldn't function
because of these pills," Cain said Monday, while seated before a trio
of glowing computer screens he uses to connect to clients of his
home-based Web site consulting service.

Since 2004, Cain has advocated for legislation of marijuana for
medicinal purposes in Texas. Most recently, he spoke at a May 2 rally
at the capitol sponsored by the Texas Cannabis Crusade and members of
the Texas chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana
Laws.

Sonny Cribbs, a Beaumont criminal defense attorney, said he expects
the Texas legislature will never join the 15 states that have to date
legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Medicinal marijuana bills have died in the state legislature before
and the most recent proposal, filed by Rep. Elliott Naishtat,
D-Austin, appears to be headed for the same fate.

The bill would establish medical necessity as a defense to marijuana
possession and also prevent doctors from being punished for
recommending marijuana use to treat serious conditions.

For the Texas House of Representatives to even vote on a bill, it must
be scheduled for a reading by Tuesday. Naishtat's bill, however, has
so far not made it out of committee.

Hardin County Sheriff Ed Cain, who is not related to Chris Cain, would
like to see the bill remain there.

Marijuana, Ed Cain said, is frequently abused by adolescents who do
not view it as dangerous as harder drugs like cocaine or
methamphetamines.

"It's the same as any drug or alcohol," Ed Cain said, noting that like
other intoxicants, marijuana can impair physical and mental
capabilities and lead to the use of harder drugs.

Ed Cain said he does not believe there is any medicinal benefit to the
drug and that medical necessity is an excuse.

"I just don't think it has any role whatsoever except to make you
high," Ed Cain said.

Juries have tended to agree, Cribbs said, noting that in instances
where he's had clients who have claimed that they possessed marijuana
to treat nausea associated with cancer treatment, the defense has not
been persuasive.

However, 75 percent of Texans polled by the Scripps Research Center in
Abilene in 2004 indicated they believe marijuana should be legalized
for medicinal purposes, according to the Web site for the American
Civil Liberties Union of Texas. Nationwide, according to the ACLU,
polls have found that 60 to 80 percent of people support medicinal
marijuana.

Members of the Texas Medical Association have not advocated marijuana
use, but the association's policy on the subject states that there is
not enough peer-reviewed research to determine whether marijuana is
more beneficial or harmful.

The association encourages doctors to be willing to discuss all
treatment options with patients, including marijuana, but does not
suggest advocating its use.

Chris Cain said he has testified as a witness in legislative committee
hearings about marijuana laws and that at the time legislators seemed
sympathetic.

"But, for political reasons, you always get shot down," Chris Cain
said.