MISSOULA WOMAN WHO USES MEDICAL MARIJUANA SEES HOPE IN HIGH-COURT CASE

Robin Prosser fully expects the U.S. Supreme Court will allow the federal
government to arrest and prosecute sick people who use marijuana for
medical purposes, even in states that have legalized it.

But Monday - when the court heard arguments in the case of a California
woman arrested for doing so - was still a "red-letter day" for Prosser's cause.

"The more information that gets out there, the more everyone will see how
they're wasting people's time," said Prosser, a Missoula woman who uses
marijuana to help her with the pain, nausea and lack of appetite associated
with her lupus-like immunosuppressive disorder.

Montanans overwhelmingly approved an initiative legalizing marijuana for
medical purposes recently. That didn't surprise Prosser either, despite the
fact that Montana is considered a conservative state.

"Conservative doesn't mean you've got no sense," Prosser said. "I even
converted my 70-year-old neighbor, who's a right-wing Christian Republican.
I think once it's legal in 25 states or more, they won't be able to keep it
down."

Prosser tried to kill herself with prescription drugs last spring after
deciding "I'd rather die than live with the pain."

Her psychologist discovered a suicide e-mail from Prosser, went to her
apartment and summoned police when she failed to answer her door. Inside,
police discovered a semiconscious Prosser, a small amount of marijuana and
pipes for smoking it.

She was charged with possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug
paraphernalia.

The city worked out an unusual agreement with Prosser that said she would
not be prosecuted for nine months if she remained "law-abiding."

The agreement also said Prosser would not be prosecuted for "use of
treatment recommended by her health-care providers for her chronic painful
permanent medical condition."

After Montana voters approved Initiative 148 on Nov. 2, "it was the freest
I've felt since I visited Amsterdam," where marijuana use is openly
tolerated, Prosser said. "It's not like I'm going to whip out a 4-foot bong
and stand on the corner of Higgins and Broadway. But I used to feel slimy -
not any more."

Prosser said the pot doesn't get her high.

"I just get normal," she said.

There remain lots of questions about how ill people whose doctors have
recommended marijuana will be registered, and where such people - many of
whom are terminally ill - who cannot grow their own pot will get it.

"I know we need some kind of co-op situation," Prosser said. "You can't go
hang out in bars trying to buy it."

She wants to help find solutions - even if the federal government is
allowed to continue prosecuting ill people who use the drug in states where
it's legal.

And if the Supreme Court rules the other way?

"There'll be dancing in the streets," Prosser said.