ADVOCATE REMEMBERED FOR FIGHT TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

But for the 30 or so people who gathered at University Congregational
Church to memorialize Prosser on Wednesday, it's easy to see how her
hand was forced.

By pain. By depression. By poverty. By her own government. * "We can't
properly honor Robin and her life without recognizing the truth of
what the government's marijuana prohibition policy did to her,
physically, emotionally, spiritually," said Tom Daubert. "We can't
properly honor what Robin struggled for years to achieve without
crying out in rage at the forces of insanity and even sadism that
destroyed her."

Prosser suffered chronic pain due to a form of lupus that made it
impossible for her to use prescribed pain medications. So she used
marijuana instead.

She was an active proponent of the statewide initiative that approved
medical marijuana use in Montana, and thought at least some of her
problems had been solved by its passage.

In late March, however, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration
seized a small amount of marijuana that was being shipped to her by an
authorized provider. At the time, a DEA agent said the federal
government was "protecting people from their own state laws" by
seizing such shipments.

Six months later, robbed of the only thing that brought her relief,
Prosser was dead at age 50.

She was, said those who knew her, a talented pianist, a mother who
loved her daughter, a friend who gave when she literally had nothing
but time to give.

She was funny, too, in a wicked sort of way. And she was tireless,
even as disease and pain drained her last reserves.

"She smiled a lot, even when she was hurting," said her friend Paul
Befumo, who worked with her on the medical marijuana initiative.

Byron Weber said Prosser taught him what it meant to be poor and sick
with dignity.

"She was a teacher," Weber said.

She taught Daubert a lesson in patience and perseverance.

"She also taught me to look underneath what you can see on the outside
of people and find their core, because while our differences may be
many on the physical level, our similarities, if we take the time to
look for them, are always much more numerous," Daubert said.

Prosser, Weber said, "needed a break, but couldn't seem to get one."
Still, she fought her pain. She also fought for others with similar
pain, working to legalize the use of marijuana for those who need it,
friends said.

"I applaud her for her bravery in that," said Angela
Goodhope.

In a way, Wednesday's memorial was a lot like Prosser. Daubert gave an
impassioned, at times angry, speech about government drug policy,
while other friends cried and told touching, small stories.

Prosser could be both sides of that coin, an abiding friend and a
fierce advocate.

Her life touched those who knew her, and they sense her presence and
inspiration as they move through their daily lives.

"I am going to take the very important lessons that Robin Prosser
taught me and incorporate them in my daily life, in part by reaching
out more to people whom we as a society often isolate, whether we mean
to or not," Daubert said. "I hope you will, too."