She was very resistant when a friend tried to persuade her to try some marijuana, which he said he could get from his son (a responsible recreational user with a good job, wife, and family). When her Dana Farber oncologist didn’t tell her NOT to try it (being reluctant to tell her TO try it, let’s call it a wink and an affirmative nod), she agreed.

She did so once, and the results were amazing. She had six full hours where her debilitating symptoms were significantly relieved. The severe persistent nausea which plagued her, despite being on three anti-nausea drugs, disappeared. Even so, she refused to try it again. She toughed it out until the end, which was a brutal four days at Brigham and Women’s, as even the strongest pain medication had no effect.

I have little doubt that eventually the chemicals which can relieve diseases and symptoms will be synthesized, and be approved as prescription medications.

Until then, it seems to me that the good of making medical marijuana available for those who get a doctor’s prescription outweighs the bad.

I think almost everyone who has had a loved one suffer with an illness which makes life unbearable, and for which marijuana would help, would agree with me. We need to deal with drug abuse aggressively in Middleboro; but making sick people pay the price for drug abusers by withholding treatment for people truly in need seems cruel and insensitive.

I urge anyone who disagrees with me to read this article from the American Cancer Society website.”