RESEARCH SHOWS MEDICAL MARIJUANA HELPS

You probably know me as a talk-show host, and perhaps as someone who
for several years has spoken out about my use of medical marijuana for
the pain caused by multiple sclerosis.

That surprised a few people, but recent research has proven that I was
right -- right about marijuana's medical benefits and right about how
urgent it is for states such as Minnesota to change their laws so that
sick people aren't treated as criminals.

If you see me on television, I look healthy. What you don't see is the
mind-numbing pain searing through my legs like hot pokers.

My doctors wrote me prescriptions for some of the strongest
painkillers available. I took Percocet, Vicodin and OxyContin on a
regular basis -- knowingly risking overdose just trying to make the
pain bearable. But these powerful, expensive drugs brought me no
relief. I couldn't sleep. I was agitated, my legs kicked involuntarily
in bed, and the pain was so bad I found myself crying in the middle of
the night.

All these heavy-duty narcotics made me almost incoherent. I couldn't
take them when I had to work, because they turned me into a zombie.
Worse, all of these drugs are highly addictive, and one thing I knew
was that I didn't want to become a junkie.

Finally, Relief

When someone suggested I try marijuana, I was skeptical -- but
desperate. To my amazement, it worked when these other legal drugs
failed. Three puffs and within minutes the excruciating pain in my
legs subsided. I had my first restful sleep in months.

I am not alone. A new study from the University of California,
published Feb. 13 in the highly regarded medical Journal Neurology,
leaves no doubt about that. You see, people with MS suffer from a
particular type of pain called neuropathic pain -- pain caused by
damage to the nerves.

It's common in MS, but also in many other illnesses, including
diabetes and HIV/AIDS. It's typically a burning or stabbing sensation,
and conventional pain drugs don't help much, whatever the specific
illness.

About the Study

The new study, conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams, looked at neuropathic
pain in HIV/AIDS patients. About one-third of people with HIV
eventually suffer this kind of pain, and there are no FDA-approved
treatments. For some, it gets so bad that they can't walk.

This was what is known as a randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled trial, the "gold standard" of medical research. And
marijuana worked. The very first marijuana cigarette reduced the pain
by an average of 72 percent, without serious side effects.

What makes this even more impressive is that U.S. researchers studying
marijuana are required to use marijuana supplied by the federal
government -- marijuana that is famous for being weak and of poor quality.

So there is every reason to believe that studies such as this one
underestimate the potential relief that high-quality marijuana could
provide.

Medical marijuana has allowed me to live a productive, fruitful life
despite having multiple sclerosis.

Many thousands of others all over this country -- less well-known than
me but whose stories are just as real -- have experienced the same thing.

Here's what's shocking: The U.S. government knows marijuana works as a
medicine.

Our government actually provides medical marijuana each month to five
patients in a program that started about 25 years ago but was closed
to new patients in 1992.

One of the patients in that program, Florida stockbroker Irvin
Rosenfeld, was a guest on my show two years ago.

But 38 states -- including Minnesota -- still subject patients with
illnesses such as MS, cancer or HIV/AIDS to arrest and jail for using
medical marijuana, even if their doctor has recommended it.

It's long past time for that to change.

Here in Minnesota, a bipartisan group of legislators has introduced a
bill to protect patients like me from arrest and jail for using
medical marijuana when it's recommended by a doctor.

Similar laws are working well in 11 states right now, with a 12th
about to take effect in New Mexico. ...

The Legislature should pass the medical marijuana bill without delay.
Sick people shouldn't be treated as criminals.

This is the opinion of Montel Williams and submitted on behalf of the
Marijuana Policy Project.