The Hit That Heals

By Gerry Miriello, On-line Forty-Niner

May 14,1998

Smoking marijuana for medical purposes can save the ailing from a lot of pain, but doctors who prescribe it can be arrested

 

Proposition 215 was only the beginning.

 

Amid the battlefield pocked with verbal artillery fired by physicians, terminally-ill patients and politicians, personal stories of human suffering and dignity have often been lost in a haze of litigation and rhetoric.

 

When California voters passed the controversial measure supporting medicinal use of marijuana (with 56 percent of the vote) and Arizonans approved the similar Proposition 200 (with 65 percent), both in November 1996, the gap between government drug warlords and the pot-legalization factions only widened.

 

Meanwhile, the ailing and meek don't inherit the earth, only more pain. Cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma patients have to deal with not only their afflictions, but also the ravaging side effects of some treatment methods, such as chemotherapy.

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Peggy Colladay was one of the debilitated, one of the many desperate souls who resorted to marijuana in a final attempt at comfort and survival.

 

The Bay Area resident was active in her retirement community and lived a seemingly healthy lifestyle, participating in yoga and other hobbies.

 

Mortality made its presence felt, however, in September 1997, when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died in February, at age 74. Her son, Charles Colladay, tells her story.

 

"The doctors found the cancer at an advanced stage. She tried chemotherapy and drug programs - the traditional treatments - first. But she experienced so much pain and discomfort, she then explored some alternative methods, like herbal and holistic therapies. Acupuncture was one of them, I recall."

 

Colladay, who lives in San Diego, traveled north to help his ailing mother. In the wake of Proposition 215, he was unsure how to go about suggesting marijuana as an alternative.

 

"I was going to recommend it to her myself," he says. "But I was uneasy about [the drug's] quasi-legal status and underground quality."

 

Colladay took his mother to a cannabis buyers' club in Oakland. He says the people there, including two who were suffering from terminal diseases, were helpful and informative.

 

"I'm not an authority," Colladay says. "I figured if I ask the people behind the counter questions, my mom could hear their answers. She was apprehensive. I mean, she never even smoked cigarettes."

 

Colladay says his mother originally preferred taking the marijuana through less intimidating means, such as cookies or brownies. He advised her to smoke the drug, though, based on some tips he picked up during those trying months.

 

"I wanted to help her with the mechanics of ingesting the marijuana. It's easier to adjust the dosage by smoking it, and the drug acts quicker. Plus, I wanted to fight her loss of appetite, so the smoking process would help give her the 'munchies.'"

 

Medical-marijuana backers have said the herb's numerous health benefits include: easing the nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, improving the appetite of cancer and AIDS patients, and lowering the pressure inside the eye of a glaucoma sufferer.

 

Marijuana's medical role is usually termed "anecdotally effective," meaning most patients who use the drug, for whatever reason, find it is effective, even though these conclusions are not supported by rigorous federal testing and research.

 

However, federal officials have not exactly hurried to sponsor such tests. American Medical News magazine has reported that very little formal research has been conducted on the medical benefits of marijuana in the last 25 years.

 

Both the government and the American Medical Association have said that there is no scientific evidence showing marijuana is useful. They also claim it harms the lungs and may cause hormonal and reproductive problems, and that other drugs and therapies could take marijuana's place.

 

Colladay says that his mother used the drug only once or twice, and that she did not notice any extreme benefits from it.

 

"It was toward the end, and she was losing patience and strength. She tried half-heartedly, really."

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Another player in this far-reaching tug-of-war is the doctor.

 

President Clinton, Attorney General Reno and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, among others, have warned that doctors who prescribe or recommend marijuana to patients risk losing their licenses and might face prosecution. They may also be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid programs.

 

Physicians are naturally concerned by this, and many refuse to recommend the drug, even if they believe marijuana would help their patients.

 

"My mom had several doctors, none of whom I met," Colladay says. "But the one doctor who signed her [prescription] letter - he chose his words very carefully. It was obvious he wanted to avoid any legal ramifications.

 

"He seemed very compassionate and sincere, though. Knowing my mom, she wouldn't have hounded him for his approval."

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The ethical struggles inherent in this issue cannot be overemphasized. Clinton (yes, the one who didn't inhale), who once called Proposition 215 a "cynical hoax," and his administration fear that any legalized use of marijuana would lead to more relaxed drug laws and increased use and abuse. It's "Just Say No" all over again.

 

Surveys have shown that drug consumption, especially marijuana use, has risen among teen-agers in the '90s.

Because the California initiative has no age restrictions, and Arizona's Proposition 200 permits the use of heroin, LSD and methamphetamines with two prescriptions, the political jockeys might never cross the finish line.

 

"A few weeks after we visited the buyers' club, the powers-that-be closed it down around Christmas-time," Colladay says. "I think it was targeted. I know it was struggling with legalities.

 

"I believe that if my mom was still alive and able to find an herbal remedy that worked for her, she would have a hard time getting access to it."

 

Colladay admits to using marijuana regularly, both in the past and present. He voted in favor of Proposition 215. His mother's ordeal, though, did not reinforce his position. He was already a firm believer in the measure.

 

"I think it's ridiculous to outlaw an herb in the first place," he says. "It deals with side effects and symptoms.

 

"I just wanted to make my mom more comfortable."

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