Pubdate: Fri, 08 Jun 2001 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Associated Press Cited: Alliance of Cannabis Therapeutics http://marijuana-as-medicine.org/ ROBERT RANDALL, WHO SUED FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA, IS DEAD AT 53 SARASOTA, Fla., Robert Randall, to whom a court gave access to government supplies of marijuana to treat his glaucoma in 1976, died on Saturday at his home here. He was 53 and still smoking government marijuana. The cause was AIDS-related complications. A Federal District Court ruled 25 years ago that Mr. Randall's use of marijuana was a medical necessity. Two years later, the government cut off his access to the drug, but he sued for reinstatement and won. Mr. Randall developed glaucoma in his teens. An ophthalmologist told him in the early 1970's that he would go blind within a few years. He never lost his sight. He grew his own marijuana until he was prosecuted. He then underwent exhaustive tests that indicated that no other glaucoma drug halted the deterioration of his eyesight. He used that argument in demanding legal access to government marijuana. In 1981, Mr. Randall and his wife, Alice, founded ACT, Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, an organization that sought to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana. On May 14, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal law controlling narcotics makes no exception for therapeutic use of the drug. In addition to his wife, Mr. Randall is survived by a sister, Susan, and a brother, Dick, both of Sarasota. - --- MAP posted-by: Andrew