U.S. DEFIES REALITY OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

I was as against medical marijuana as any dyed-in-the-wool narcotics
enforcement officer could be, since I was one before I retired
(Editorial, Star-Bulletin, April 24). I was sure it was a scam by
people who were using it as a smokescreen.

I changed my mind when I traveled to Zillah, Wash., to say my goodbye
to a fellow Vietnam combat vet buddy who was suffering from throat
cancer. The only way he could get hungry, pain-free and happy was to
smoke marijuana. He didn't last very long, perhaps a couple of months
after treatment started.

To be ignorant of the medical uses of marijuana is to be ignorant of reality.

George Gersaba

Honolulu