Sunday Dialogue

WHEN MARIJUANA IS USED AS MEDICINE.

Mr. Evans, who is not a doctor and doesn't specialize in any of the
illnesses he cites, overextends his expertise when he advises me and
other readers that medical marijuana does not help me and others like me.

I have Parkinson's disease, and I have used marijuana on occasion to
relieve the uncomfortable stiffness that I suffer from time to time. It works.

Mr. Evans insists that "numerous safe and effective F.D.A.-approved
medications are available for these conditions." He's right; I'm on
several of them. But these drugs have unpleasant and, in one case,
potentially debilitating side effects when used on a long-term basis.
How easy it is for an anti-marijuana crusader to dismiss its medical
benefits; how wrong he is to advocate denying me something that eases
my suffering.

ED SIKOV

New York, Dec. 14, 2011