MEDICINAL POT MERITS CONSIDERED AT HEARING

DES MOINES - A parade of Iowans touted the medical benefits of
marijuana at a hearing before the Iowa Board of Pharmacy today, which
is seeking scientific input on medical marijuana use.

Robert Manke of Des Moines told the board that using marijuana helps
with severe nausea and pain from migraine headaches and the results
of severe car accidents.

"I'm not here because I want to get high; I'm here because I want to
stop being sick, and I want to stop being persecuted, and I need your
help," Manke said.

The hearing in Des Moines was the first of four in the state meant to
gather scientific evidence on the pros and cons of marijuana use to
treat medical conditions.

At the conclusion of the hearings, the board could choose to make a
recommendation to reclassify marijuana, allowing it to be used for
medical purposes. Any change would have to gain approval from the
Iowa Legislature.

A total of 13 states currently have laws that effectively allow the
use of medical marijuana.

Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, is one Iowa lawmaker who is opposed
to the idea of the state allowing medical marijuana and called the
hearing a "ridiculous charade."

"This is the nose of the camel under the tent to legalize marijuana,"
Baudler said.

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said recently he did not think
support exists among majority Democrats for allowing medical
marijuana use in Iowa.

Alan Koslow, a vascular surgeon from West Des Moines, asked board
members to acknowledge marijuana as a treatment. Some pain
medications he prescribes simply sedate patients enough so they can
tolerate the pain, he said.

Gary Bellitt of Ames, who tested positive for HIV more than 20 years
ago, told board members that using marijuana helps alleviate severe
side effects of a strict schedule of antiviral drugs.

Bellitt said he was unable to comply with that schedule and by 1994,
his health had declined to the point he was diagnosed with full-blown
AIDS and went on disability.

He was able to counter the side effects of his drug regimen with
marijuana, which helped the nausea, muscle cramps, pain, anxiety and
insomnia, he said.

Bellitt's health improved, allowing him to go back to school and earn
his degree at Iowa State University in 2005. He has a full-time job
and is no longer on disability.

But he said complying with his treatment regimen in Iowa is more
difficult than when he lived in California, which has legalized the
medical use of marijuana.

"The only way I know to find marijuana is through the black market,
and dealing with criminals is never a fun thing," Bellitt said.

Linda Lee O'Neel of Creston was one of a handful of opponents to
medical marijuana. O'Neel spoke out against allowing medical
marijuana "after having seen my friends get high" and cited articles
detailing negative medical effects of the drug.

The pharmacy board's next hearing is set for Sept. 2 in Mason City.