MAN'S MEDICINAL MARIJUANA USE LEADS TO FIRING

RACINE - Four years ago, Thermal Transfer Products, 5215 21st St.,
presented Don Lyons with a plaque for 20 years of faithful service.

On Oct. 19, the company presented him with a termination letter. He was
terminated for violation of the firm's substance abuse policy.

Don Lyons admits he tested positive for marijuana, but he said he is not a
recreational user. Lyons said he has carpal tunnel syndrome, a bad back and
a painful leg, and for 20 years, marijuana has been able to alleviate his
discomfort like nothing else.

For the small political engine which seeks to legalize medicinal use of
marijuana, Lyons, of the north side of Racine, is fuel for the fire. He may
be just the kind of guy they're fighting for.

A bill to essentially legalize the use of marijuana as medicine was
introduced in Madison Tuesday, by state Reps. Frank Boyle, D-Superior, and
Mark Pocan, D-Madison. The bill is based on a Hawaii law which allows
patients to use medical marijuana if authorized by their doctor.

"Medical marijuana is the law in eight states and Wisconsin should be the
ninth. Marijuana has a wide range of therapeutic applications that has
proven to help patients, yet we deny that right for them to use it," Boyle
said. "This does not make sense."

But not everyone feels doctors should be able to write prescriptions for
marijuana. Arthur Derse is a doctor, lawyer and associate director of the
Bioethics Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin - he's opposed to the
idea.

Derse is concerned prescribed marijuana will fall into the wrong hands. He
also notes that marijuana smoke contains cancer-causing ingredients and
that it's hard to measure the dose.

A doctor can already prescribe the active ingredient of marijuana - THC -
in pill form, but Derse admits that some people get greater benefit from
smoking it. He admitted that for a small number of people, smoking
marijuana can be the best path to relief.

"It's not in the same category as other addictive drugs," he said. "Cocaine
- - very bad; marijuana - not so bad."

Derse is opposed to any legalization of marijuana, but he admits reasonable
people can disagree with him. Some do.

The Nurses Association of Wisconsin, for example, supports legalizing the
medical use of marijuana.

Gina Dennik-Champion, executive director, said her nurses can see when
things aren't working. They're on the front lines, caring for patients who
need marijuana to cope with real-world problems, she said.

"It's interesting that the FDA approved it as a pill form," Dennik-Champion
said. "There's methods that work, and if that's what contributes towards
overall patient care and health, then we'll support it."

Marijuana has proven useful for some terminally ill patients and for
patients experiencing nausea during cancer treatments. "A lot of people,
they can't take a pill or hold it down," said Pocan. "It allows for some
patients a different sort of delivery."

Pocan feels his bill has a better shot at success than in the past. He said
one hurdle, though, is the opposition of State Assembly Speaker Scott
Jensen. "He has a lot of power," Pocan said.

So with state law - at least for now - still barring all use of marijuana,
Lyons has decided to abandon the drug.

He has been out of work since he was fired Oct. 19. After 24 years at
Thermal Transfer Products, he knows he needs a new job, and he knows he'll
have to pass drug tests.

So Lyons said he's avoiding marijuana in favor of a basket full of pills,
which does not work as well. The pills, he said, are better than nothing.

He is believable, but it's hard to confirm his pain. This complicates the
medical marijuana issue. It's hard to say who truly needs it, and who will
abuse it.

Lyons' story starts with getting his job at Thermal Transfer Products in
1978. Working as a machinist, he developed carpal tunnel on the job, he
said. He also tore ligaments in his leg while on vacation.

He used marijuana medically for 20 years, and the company never had a
problem with him, he said. Representatives of Thermal Transfer Products
were contacted for comment, but they did not return phone calls Friday.

Lyons feels the company didn't want him anymore, with his injuries, and his
use of marijuana was an easy way to get rid of him. After he stumbled in
his work area and hurt his wrist in May, he was ordered tested. He said he
stumbled because of his bad leg, not because of smoking, but he flunked the
drug test and was fired.

Lyons has documentation from his test which suggests marijuana can remain
in your blood for weeks after use; Lyons said his work was unaffected by
his marijuana use.

"I never pushed it or sold it," he said.

"What do you do when you get drunk?" he asked. "People are killed every day
because of alcohol. The only thing I ever got was a parking ticket."

He said he uses no other illegal drugs and he doesn't get into any kind of
trouble with the law. Lyons said he is just a man in pain.

"Marijuana seems to really do something for the lower back," he said. "I
would testify to that."