POT HAS IMPROVED THEIR LIVES

Re: 'The Folly Of Marijuana Use,' letter to the editor, Jan. 3.

In 2002 my wife was having up to three epileptic seizures each week.
In May of that year she quit using the pharmaceuticals that were
failing to prevent the seizures and started using cannabis daily. In
2007, she had only four seizures in total. Video footage of one of
her seizures has been on YouTube for almost a year
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV40H_g-NJo), with over 150,000
views. My wife and I each use between two and 2.5 grams of cannabis
every day, inhaling it through a vaporizer, which delivers about four
times the medicine as the same amount when smoked. I use cannabis to
combat the myriad symptoms of Fibromyalgia. In the past 12 months, I
have stopped using my mechanical wheelchair and returned to the
stand-up comedy stage.

Using cannabis every three hours has improved both of our lives
dramatically. We are healthier, happier and more community-oriented.
"Folly" indeed.

Russell Barth, federal medical marijuana licence holder, Ottawa.