Pubdate: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 Source: Frederick News Post (MD) Copyright: 2002 Great Southern Printing and Manufacturing Company Contact: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/contact/contactfinalnew.cfm?contact=letters Website: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/814 Author: Larry Silberman CANCER VICTIM USED MARIJUANA I have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer). I went through several surgeries and radiation therapy. That was the easy part. I just finished eight months of an experimental high-dose chemotherapy trial. The first two weeks of chemotherapy were terrible - nausea and no rest. Prozac didn't help; the sleeping pills were ineffective; I just couldn't get any resting sleep. I'd wake up after dozing off. Patients at the infusion center (where the chemo is administered) told me Marinol - synthetic THC - didn't work. I was not going to be able to survive this way. I started smoking marijuana two weeks into the chemotherapy. The nausea abated and I was able to get some blessed rest. I was able to survive this trial, even do some work. I don't know if I would have been able to without the marijuana. In opposing compassionate medical marijuana use, State Sens. Alex Mooney and Tim Ferguson must live in a world that is blessedly free of cancer, AIDS and glaucoma. Unfortunately, that world doesn't exist for the rest of us. I'd like to thank Delegates David Brinkley, Sue Hecht and Louise Snodgrass for their support of compassionate medical marijuana use. And special accolades to Delegate Donald Murphy for leading the good fight. LARRY SILBERMAN Burtonsville - --- MAP posted-by: Beth