PATIENTS PRAISE POT'S POWERS

Editor's note: The patients interviewed for this story requested their
real names not be used for reasons of privacy and because of what they
perceive as a stigma regarding the use of marijuana as medicine.

In the aftermath of sudden lower-body paralysis that struck nearly
four years ago, Puebloan Jeannie M. found herself in a wheelchair, and
in a drug-induced fog.

After more than three months in the hospital, she was sent home with
prescriptions for Dilaudid, Baclofen, antidepressants,
anti-convulsants and other medications that require mathematical
genius to track correctly, she said.

Because some of the narcotic painkillers made her too drowsy to read
or even watch TV, and affected her coordination during physical
therapy sessions, the 53-year-old decided to try marijuana as a substitute.

She admits having been a recreational pot user years ago, but had read
about the potential benefits of marijuana for patients with multiple
sclerosis and other spinal diseases or injuries. She has transverse
myelitis, a severe inflammation of the spine that often is a precursor
to MS.

Two of her many doctors agreed that she might benefit from marijuana,
and one of them wrote her a prescription for Marinol, a pharmaceutical
that contains a synthetic version of THC, one of the components
believed to be responsible for marijuana's medicinal benefits.

She took the drug off and on for a year, and experienced some relief
from pain and insomnia, she said.

"I'm on Medicaid. Sometimes they'd pay for it, and sometimes they
wouldn't, so I wasn't on it that whole time. Then they stopped paying
for it completely,' she said.

"At $1,500 a month, I couldn't afford it, so I decided to try some
real marijuana."

She got the drug through friends and family members who are
recreational marijuana users and found it helped more than Marinol,
especially with nerve pain that is comparable to the phantom limb pain
experienced by amputees.

She said it also controls "toning" in her leg muscles -- involuntary
contractions and extensions that are painful and often occur at night,
contributing to insomnia that's been her companion since she became
ill.

"I told my doctors I was smoking marijuana and asked them to sign
papers for me to get it legally and none of them wanted to do that,"
she said.

But they were willing to write letters in support of her wishes, and
one of them recommended she go to a Pueblo West medical marijuana
dispensary where Dr. James Satt of Rocky Ford evaluates and certifies
paperwork for medical marijuana registry applicants.

Satt went over her medical records and signed her evaluation form and
in December, she joined nearly 300 Puebloans who are on the state's
registry.

Then came the shocker: The cost of an ounce of marijuana at the
dispensary was $375, compared with an average of $175 to $200 for what
she said is a comparable product bought illegally.

"They said it's higher quality, and they had so many different kinds
of marijuana I couldn't believe it," Jeannie said. "But I didn't think
it worked any better than what I was buying before."

So, she's considering growing her own plants from seed or "clones"
available at some dispensaries, or continuing to buy from illegal
sellers -- with the knowledge that her possession of what she buys is
illegal.

"The whole thing is confusing," she said. "I feel better having my
card to be legal. But I can't afford those prices."

Sheldon has his own business as a construction contractor. He said he
has used marijuana recreationally since high school and learned as a
young adult that it did a better job for his back pain than the
narcotics doctors urged him to take.

"I don't do anything else for my back pain, which is pretty
excruciating. And (marijuana) helps me sleep at night," said the
43-year-old.

He disagrees that the higher price he pays at dispensaries isn't
commensurate with higher quality.

"When you get into the higher grade medicinal stuff, it acts almost
like a prescription drug but without all the adverse effects of
regular narcotics," he said.

With the sales and production of medicinal marijuana having been legal
since 2000, Sheldon said. Growers have had ample time to experiment
with quality and purity, as well as specializing various strains to
target various symptoms.

"Some are good for relaxing, some for pain, and some for sleep. They
have different medical effects, just like different pills. There are
25 or more strains, and they're not all alike."

Sheldon said he doesn't mind the increased cost because what he buys
at dispensaries, or sometimes from a certified grower at a discount,
is more effective for his pain.

He smokes about an ounce a month, sometimes an ounce and a quarter, he
said.

He became a certified registry patient in December, in part so he
could grow his own marijuana without fear.

He was evaluated by a doctor in Colorado Springs who "was adamant that
she wouldn't give me anything without my medical records," he said.
"She had the foresight that she wanted to have the records to prove
that she was doing things right.

"She wants to see me once a year. I think a lot of people might not be
legal after the law changes, when it comes to passing the true test
(for medical need). They should start making (exams mandatory) every
single year and have the same doctor, or another legitimate doctor,
issue new certifications," he said.

Sheldon said he never had a legal problem with marijuana before he
decided to get licensed in December.

"I wanted to start growing my own. That's the biggest reason. I've
been a recreational pot smoker most of my life. I don't drink, I don't
do any other drugs. I don't get high at work. Just a little after I
get home, and sometimes before I go to bed," he said.

Sheldon said he's seen evidence of "the criminal element" at some
dispensaries, and that isn't likely to totally go away no matter how
the law changes, but he said he believes regulation, and making
marijuana legally available to those who need it, remove much of the
crime related to pot on the streets, he said.

"This is one of those bells you can't unring. Until they get some
regulations in place to weed out the people who just want to be able
to get marijuana, people will abuse the law," he said.

"On the other hand, I have a son in college and I'd rather have my son
smoking pot than drinking, or smoking ecstasy or doing other drugs.

"I'm self-employed in the construction industry, I have a family and a
good life and marijuana has been a constant. I've never drank or done
any other drugs. I have friends who say, 'When I drink beer, I get in
fights. When I smoke pot, I make friends.' Most people who smoke
marijuana are really good people."