TIME TO ADDRESS MEDICAL MARIJUANA, ONLEY SAYS

TORONTO -- He didn't say it outright, but one day after being sworn
in as Ontario's 28th Lieutenant-Governor, David Onley all but
endorsed medicinal marijuana use by the chronically ill.

"It seems to me that when there is no alternative in terms of
conventional medicine, anything that has been approved for medical
purposes should be accepted and understood," Lt. Gov. Onley wrote
during an online discussion yesterday with The Globe and Mail. "It's
an issue that has to be addressed!"

The former Toronto broadcaster was responding to a reader concerned
that too many Canadians are suffering because they cannot get access
to medical marijuana.

"I know what it is to be in severe and chronic pain, especially after
major reconstructive knee surgeries when I was a child," wrote Mr.
Onley, who had polio as a child and is paralyzed from the waist down.
"The pain was so intense that I required heavy-duty narcotics, which
only partially deadened the pain ...

"While this is not the same as a chronic disorder, I have always felt
that when I saw a story on television, or reported on one about
medical marijuana, I had a better understanding than most people."