PENS START SMOKING OVER USE OF POT FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES

IT'S BEEN quite a while since one of my columns has evoked such a swift
response.

Two weeks ago, I introduced you to Jane Parker, a Bridgetown-area mother
laid low by the pain and spasms of multiple sclerosis.

Jane has Health Canada's permission to grow and smoke marijuana for health
reasons. Unfortunately, she had run into federal red tape that was
threatening to make her a criminal.

The same day her story appeared, I began getting feedback. To my surprise,
most of it was in favour of Jane and the medical use of marijuana.

One of the first messages I got was from Jane herself, who wrote to thank
me.

"You took as big a chance here as I did," she said. "No doubt you will hear
the negative until the cows come home. You have gained a great deal of
respect from medical users across this country, from here to B.C. and every
place in between. You have offered hope to others who find themselves
stranded by Health Canada. I could never have accomplished spreading that
message without you."

There was this from another reader: "Religious and other taboos are
preventing relief for sufferers while the use of alcohol and tobacco goes
unchallenged. Looking forward to further articles by you on the subject."

Someone who wasn't impressed was a Halifax ex-Mountie. He was cynical as to
the reason people like Jane choose to smoke the drug, rather than use it in
some more passive form.

"Smoking it will affect others around them . . .," he noted. "There is no
medical reason to smoke pot. There are medical reasons to take it in other
safer, non-intrusive forms."

He continued, "So why hasn't the media asked that simple question? I realize
the real motive here is to legalize pot and that is likely why no one is
asking that simple question. Peter, for the safety of all, I think the media
has to ask that question."

A captain in the military voiced some strong opinions.

Said he, "I do not (smoke), nor have I ever smoked or done drugs of any
kind, but if someone needs something to help them alleviate pain, and it can
be found, by God, it had better be done. I was once told to be ready to
shoot all the people our government thought it was necessary to do so, and
now they tell us not to smoke anything? Give me a life somewhere!"

I heard from Wendy and Eric, a couple in Victoria, B.C., who also have
permission to grow marijuana.

"Your article helps to alleviate the public's misconception of marijuana as
medicine," they wrote. "Unfortunately, many people still believe that it's
not valid medicinally.

"With journalists such as yourself writing about people like Jane, it will
help to make the government and the public realize that marijuana as
medicine, and the Office of Cannabis Medical Access, is an extremely
valuable, necessary and integral part of Health Canada's responsibility to
patient well-being, treatment and pain management."

Wendy and Eric have established a Web site for those who use marijuana for
medical purposes. The site is at www.medicalmarihuana.ca.

Most touching of all, I heard from Rick Parker, one of Jane's brothers who's
with the military and stationed in Winnipeg.

He wrote, "Thank you for your open mind and willingness to listen before
judging. I watched my mother die from MS and am now doing the same with
Jane. It's not easy and, as a member of the Armed Forces, married with three
kids of my own, I don't get to go home much, so every time I go home, Jane
is worse every time I see her.

"Last year, when our mother died, was hard; it was the first time I saw my
mother and sister in six years. I could not recognize the woman who was my
mother, and my sister is not the person I remembered, so when pot helps her
live a somewhat normal life, I say good, but the government for whom I work
and defend has the gall to treat my sister in this way.

". . . Enough's enough. Please, let my sister have her dignity, a life and
some relief from her pain."

So there you have it, some of your reactions to this controversial topic.

Personally, I've always been against illegal drugs. Soft or hard, they're a
curse and those who sell them, especially to kids, are evil and should rot
in prison.

But then came Jane. Meeting her has given me cause to pause, as far as the
medical use of marijuana is concerned. The relief I saw one joint give her
from her pain was really impressive.

And now, just days ago, I learned that a dear friend who's in her 70s has
applied for federal permission to use marijuana to offset the pain of her
severe arthritis.

Suddenly, I'm not sure any more.