DECIDING WHEN WE DIE

"Suicide is not her answer" stated your Comment on June 13 on the plight of
Biz Ivol, and you described her decision to end her life as an
"extraordinary statement".

While we do not have any say in the matter of our conception and birth, we
should all have the right to decide when, where and how we die, if we so
wish, although the unforeseen circumstances of injury or illness often
decide otherwise.

It is presumptuous and arrogant to suggest that this courageous and
determined woman should continue to fight and draw attention to the plight
of MS victims, when she is a victim not only of MS, but of the failure of
legal and medical systems, and of society in general, to accept the fact
that cannabis has a beneficial medicinal use and those who use it thus
should not be treated as criminals.

Sean Baugh Graham Place Stromness