Pub] Date: Monday, June 16 1997
Source: Evening Herald (Dublin, Eire)
Contact: LET ME USE MARIJUANA
I need it to ease pain
(By Mairtin Mac Cormaic)

A Dublin man pleaded today to be allowed to use marijuana to help ease the
pain of his incurable disease.

Paddy Doyle, a former winner of the People of the Year award, has been told
he cannot use the illegal drug for his medical condition.

A doctor failed to get permission from the Department of Health to
prescribe marijuana for Mr. Doyle, the bestselling author of his
autobiography "The God Squad".

Mr Doyle suffers from ideopathic torsion dystonia  a painful and incurable
condition.

He told the "Evening Herald" today: "There is no known cause for the
condition. It's a very severe disorder, which causes the muscles to spasm.

"It starts first thing in the morning and continues right through the day.
As an American consultant put it  it's like doing a work out in a gym for
16 hours a day.

"I've tried every other drug known to alleviate the condition. There is no
absolute drug that will cure it but there are a host of drugs that can be
tried.

"None of those have worked. How do I know marijuana will work? A bit like
Bill Clinton I didn't inhale it. Many years ago I came across it and it
seemed to work.

"The letter from Minister Noonan to the consultant is just so callous and
cold.

"And the Department of Justice simply said no. It's a controlled substance
and that's it."

Mr. Doyle said all he was asking of the new Minister for Justice was to
consider his case rather than passing it over to the civil service for a
civil service reply.

"Michael Noonan has prided himself on his compassion. But he showed little
compassion in my case."

Mr Doyle who is married with three boys aged from 16 to 22 is suffering
from the disorder from the time he was eight after both his parents died.