Source: Albany Times Union Contact: Aug 12, 1997 Comment: Legalize Medical Use of Marijuana (8/12) By HARRY ROSENFELD c.1997 Albany Times Union ALBANY, N.Y. A man I know turned to smoking marijuana to overcome his total aversion to food as a result of chemotherapy treatments. Three or four puffs of marijuana restored his appetite enough so that he could eat. Without it, he certainly would have become dangerously debilitated, his fight against the cancer in his body would have been undermined, and he might have starved to death. That's a compelling argument for legalizing marijuana for medicinal use. But the authorities, from President Clinton down to local sheriffs, disagree. Having failed utterly to control the widespread recreational use of marijuana, which is illegal, the forces of law and order have marshaled their majestic powers to keep the medically needy from taking a few helpful puffs. The basic rationale for opposing medical legalization is twofold. First, people pressing for it have an ulterior motive: It is for them the opening to the legalization of the drug for everyone. Second, other medications are available to treat the specific sorts of suffering that marijuana eases.