MEDICAL MARIJUANA PUSHED 'PATIENTS SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED CRIMINALS'

LAKE VILLA -- While its ranks are modest and some members are fearful
of repercussions, a group supporting the medical marijuana legislation
pending in the Illinois House is lobbying for the cause.

Members of the Illinois Cannabis Patients Association say that
allowing seriously ill patients to use cannabis to help alleviate pain
and the debilitating nausea of treatments such as chemotherapy is the
moral and ethical thing to do.

The Illinois Senate agrees, but whether the House follows suit may be
determined in early May.

On Monday evening, members of the Cannabis Patients Association,
including local patients who say they have used marijuana successfully
to help ease severe symptoms, spoke to a sparse audience at the Lake
Villa Public Library.

Speakers included Fox Lake resident and cancer survivor Rob Robinson
and Lisa Lange, a Lindenhurst resident with a host of debilitation and
painful conditions including severe osteoarthritis and Dercum's
disease, which causes the growth of fatty tumors.

Robinson said his wife and other family members also are cancer
survivors, and that his brother-in-law, a former Lake County sheriff's
deputy, died of lung cancer.

He said one of the reasons he is now a public proponent of the medical
marijuana legislation is regret that he didn't broach marijuana as an
option with his brother-in-law prior to his death.

Robinson said concerns over his relative's position as a law
enforcement officer and worries about potential prosecution may have
figured into his decision at the time, but he now openly advocates
cannabis use for seriously ill patients and urges other patients to
speak up as well.

"Sometimes issues are greater than self-concern. Once you've been
dragged through that cancer pit, what else are they going to take from
me," Robinson said. "I found using the cannabis during chemo helped me
tremendously with nausea and helped me eat again."

Lange, who has had several surgeries -- including spinal fusion -- as
a result of her conditions, said cannabis helps her reduce the amount
of stronger drugs such as OxyContin that she is prescribed and uses
for pain.

"You can imagine the pain I am in. This has made a big difference in
my life," she said. "You want to enjoy life and participate."

Lange added that if the proposed law is enacted, qualified patients
will not have to undergo risks to obtain and use marijuana.

State Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, who voted in favor of the bill,
said he thinks it has a chance of passing in the House if legislators
consider the conditions of the patients involved and realize the
proposal has protections to prevent abuse.

"I've got no problem with it," he said. "If this is something that can
make the quality of life better for someone who needs it, why not?"

Dan Linn, a Lake Villa native and executive director of the Illinois
Cannabis Patients Association, said passing the legislation is simply
the right thing to do.

"Medical cannabis patients should not be considered criminals," he
said.