MEDICAL MARIJUANA IMPROVEMENTS VITAL TO THOSE REGISTERED

I was shocked by Dave Shapiro's mean-spirited column on the medical
marijuana task force (Sept. 16).

There was no funding associated with the task force. While not a high
state priority, it does show a governor thumbing her nose at
legislators. Rather than "promoting its use," they are making a
responsible effort to address problems with the nine-year-old program.

Improvements are vital to the almost 5,000 registered patients. Many
are severely ill or disabled. For Mr. Shapiro to assert that most can
grow their own pot or "acquire it on the market" is disingenuous and
cruel. An elderly woman diagnosed with cancer who must start chemo the
next week has neither the time nor expertise to grow her own. Sending
her to the black market is unrealistic and risky. This lack of access
is the main problem the task force was asked to address.

Losing funding for dialysis is indeed a serious concern and I hope
that those of us without kidney disease could empathize.

It's unfortunate that Mr. Shapiro's experiment with medical marijuana
didn't help him, but it's unfair of him to generalize his experience
and dismiss that of many others who have obtained relief.

Pamela G. Lichty, MPH

President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i