ENDORSE USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

To the Editor:

State legislators in the General Assembly currently have before them an
important bill that concerns all families in our community. Thousands of
Rhode Islanders suffer from multiple sclerosis, cancer, HIV/AIDS and other
serious conditions. Many of them use medical marijuana to alleviate their
suffering. These people are not criminals, and certainly shouldn't be
treated as such.

The Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Act would legally protect seriously ill
and disabled people who use medical marijuana with their doctors' approval.
I'm a 41-year-old registered nurse and mother of two who was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis 10 years ago. If I decide to use medical marijuana to
treat the muscle pain and spasticity I endure every day as a result of my
disease, I shouldn't have to fear being arrested, fined or jailed for doing
so - especially since I have my doctor's recommendation.

The General Assembly's leadership should act swiftly to ensure that this
compassionate legislation is enacted into law this year. It means so much
to so many Rhode Islanders like me.

Rhonda O'Donnell, R.N.

Warwick
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MMj in RI: www.mpp.org/RI

Pubdate: Tue, 08 Jun 2004

Source: Warwick Beacon (RI)

Author: Rhonda O'Donnell, R.N.

ENDORSE USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA(bold)

(/bold)To the Editor:

State legislators in the General Assembly currently have before them an
important bill that concerns all families in our community. Thousands of
Rhode Islanders suffer from multiple sclerosis, cancer, HIV/AIDS and other
serious conditions. Many of them use medical marijuana to alleviate their
suffering. These people are not criminals, and certainly shouldn't be
treated as such.

The Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Act would legally protect seriously ill
and disabled people who use medical marijuana with their doctors' approval.
I'm a 41-year-old registered nurse and mother of two who was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis 10 years ago. If I decide to use medical marijuana to
treat the muscle pain and spasticity I endure every day as a result of my
disease, I shouldn't have to fear being arrested, fined or jailed for doing
so - especially since I have my doctor's recommendation.

The General Assembly's leadership should act swiftly to ensure that this
compassionate legislation is enacted into law this year. It means so much
to so many Rhode Islanders like me.

Rhonda O'Donnell, R.N., Warwick