MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Re: your Feb. 25 article, "Physician Plans Medical Marijuana Practice":

The article states "California legalized medical marijuana by a vote
of the people in 1996 with the passage of proposition 215." The
article also stated that medical marijuana distribution is not allowed
in Ventura County. What?

My 80-year-old wife was diagnosed as very likely having stage IV
cancer of the spine, and conventional treatment was not an option due
to her advanced emphysema. We have had her at home since mid December,
and her pain was getting more and more intense. Prescribed pain pills,
including orally ingested morphine were our only weapons. Additional
medication was then required to combat the negative side effects of
the pills and morphine, and they did not work. It was a terrible situation.

Then, her doctor finally recommended medical marijuana and we selected
one from four locally advertised suppliers and purchased a
great-tasting pastry containing marijuana, which is the standard
method of application.

A miracle! Her pain soon went away completely with three doses a day
of this cake. Each dose is the size of only two sugar cubes. Her
appetite returned and there was no evidence of any negative side
effects of any kind!

For the life of me, I cannot understand the reasons for resisting the
use of this "miracle medicine" as I confidently call it. I wonder,
could there be some kind of organization that would benefit from
lobbying our political representatives to try to keep it out of the
marketplace?

Anyone questioning my experience with medical marijuana, should go to
a facility that specializes in elder care and ask an experienced nurse.

Robert B. Sherman,

Thousand Oaks