Originally Published in the N.W. Arkansas Times, February 13, 2000

The debate in Arkansas about medical benefits from marijuana often focuses on scientific evidence, legal ramifications and moral questions, while those who have used the herb for medicine are frequently forgotten. 

Kim Jones, a retired Fayetteville registered nurse, uses marijuana daily to ease the pain caused by a series of auto accidents. 

"It gets me through my day," she explained.

Like many other marijuana users, Jones fears prosecution for her marijuana smoking, and asked that her real identity not be revealed.

An accident crushed her pelvis and took a portion of her left foot confining Jones to a wheelchair for a period.

After a series of surgeries, she is now able to walk up to six hours each day, but said without marijuana to ease the pain and relax her muscles, even limited mobility would not be possible.

While Jones acknowledged there are many prescription narcotics on the market she could take for pain relief, they are expensive with serious side effects she would rather avoid.

Though she stopped using marijuana when she was pregnant, her usual dosage of the medicine entails smoking about four marijuana joints a day in combination with hot baths.

Jones said there is nothing wrong with her choice of medication, and those who think marijuana is evil are misinformed.

There is an education gap between the medical community and the public as well, she added.  If doctors truly informed the public about the benefits of marijuana, the tide would turn and marijuana could become more acceptable as well as legal.

Unable to work due to her disability, with the help of friends Jones spends her time caring for her 1 year-old and keeping the house in order.  "That's enough," she said, as even with marijuana's help she tires easily and rests often.

Many similar tales exist in Washington County, and even law enforcement officials say terminally ill and chronic pain sufferers should have every available medication.

Springdale Police Chief Mikel Blocker said while he opposes marijuana use in general, he is all for patients receiving whatever is necessary to relieve pain.

Moreover, he did not dismiss outright the attempt by the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas to make medical marijuana legal in the state.

"If sufficient medical evidence can show a significant role in reducing pain and suffering, and they closely scrutinize how it is administered, I'm all for it," he explained.

Regulation is going to be the key to any medical marijuana effort, he added Other officials seem to agree.

Fourth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Terry Jones said since 1991 he has seen about three cases where people charged with marijuana possession were using the drug for legitimate medical purposes.  Out of respect for their conditions, prosecutors have the discretion to refuse to pursue charges against them, he said.

As for the state's medical marijuana ballot initiatives, Jones said, if legitimate medical uses are found "go for it."

The Fayetteville Police Department has also been known to look the other way when discovering marijuana was used for medication.

On Friday, police responded to a call in south Fayetteville where a man was questioned for supposedly smelling like marijuana.

The suspect admitted having marijuana, but explained to detectives it was used to combat Tourrette's syndrome, an ailment causing uncontrollable vocal outbursts in a person.

After searching the car, officers simply forced the suspect to dump the small amount of marijuana on the ground, and let the man leave unimpeded.

"What a testament to their compassion," the man explained, "that they would let me go when they learned I had Tourette's."

Yet some area residents have not fared well in court, even with prosecutor's discretion.

In January, Ellis Kendall Parsons, 46, pleaded guilty to growing eight marijuana plants.

He claimed they were being grown to ease the suffering of his wife who was dying from cancer.

However, such excuses were not acceptable as a defense.

When sentencing Parsons, Circuit Judge William Storey said, "Although it seemed to be for a worthy purpose, it's still a serious violation of the law.  As bad as your situation is, or anyone else's situation, in the future you just can't do this."

Betty Wicker also knows the legal consequences of using medicinal marijuana in a state where it's still an illegal drug for any purpose.

In August, Fayetteville police arrested Wicker and her boyfriend for marijuana possession.

Her boyfriend was sentenced to three years in prison, while Wicker was given three years probation.

Although she told Storey the marijuana was used to fight debilitating cerebral palsy symptoms, he said she would need to find another effective method to manage the condition.

Wicker, 42, shakes uncontrollably from head to foot, making simple conversation difficult.

Wicker said she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in 1993, which doctors believe could have been caused by a head injury she suffered when falling from a horse as a teenager.

Before being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she said, doctors misidentified the symptoms as "bad nerves," and prescribed various pharmaceuticals for the problem.

When a Walnut Ridge doctor correctly identified her condition, he said she had three options.  Undergo brain surgery which could kill her, take 21 pills each day which could also kill her, or smoke marijuana.

In fact, Wicker said, the doctor specifically instructed her to not stop smoking or she would wind up in a wheelchair within six months.

Yet due to the court ordered probation Wicker is forced to take urinalysis tests each week, and to avoid legal trouble, has discontinued smoking marijuana.

"Guess I'm gonna find out if the doctor was right," she said sadly.  While she could resume morphine therapy, Wicker said reliance on the addictive drug is not pleasant.

"I want to be able to live," she said, "and know what's going on around me.  With morphine, I can't."

"The government officials are not the medical experts," Wicker said, "They should let doctors decide if marijuana would help.  Why else would we have doctors?"

For now, because of the court fines and her disability, Wicker cannot afford rent and is living from couch to couch with friends.

Her seizures, which were limited to only two per month while smoking marijuana, now strike once a week, leaving her temporarily crippled.  Unfortunately, she said, morphine seems to be the only option.

As a result of her troubles, Wicker supports the legalization effort under way in the state.

"Hopefully this will get legalized before I'm dead," Wicker concluded.  Some local medical professionals agree.

Retired physician Dana Copp, who lives near Springdale, said he supports the initiative effort because marijuana has a proven beneficial effect, and patients should have access to any medication which could improve the quality of their lives.

Marijuana has a stigma associated with it, he said, which prevents the public from separating medical reality from the myths and hysteria caused by ignorance.

Another retired physician, John Day, former Veterans Administration Medical Center doctor and director of the University of Arkansas Heath Center in Fayetteville, said social ills associated with tobacco and alcohol far outweigh problems from marijuana, and thus continued prohibition is senseless while those more harmful drugs remain legal.

"It's very difficult to kill a patient with marijuana," he said.

Yet many practicing physicians are unwilling to publicly voice their support for medical marijuana, which Day says is a direct result of the nationwide marijuana mania.

Judging by the numerous practicing physicians in the area who refused to discuss the issue, his assessment seems correct.

Day said he accepts the criticism from colleagues for his views on medical marijuana.

He stands fast in his convictions because, as he puts it, people should do what they know is right, and ignore attacks from others.

Quality of life issues are also important to "David", a Fayetteville man who has known he is HIV positive since 1991.

Although he does not smoke marijuana now, he has used it to augment prescription drugs to keep his weight up, as the body needs mass to remain healthy under HIV's incessant attack.

Originally from New Orleans, David said he witnessed first hand how marijuana can benefit AIDS victims.

As a caretaker for two ailing men, David said, he saw marijuana work to stimulate their appetites, as well as easing their minds in general.

If current medications began to fail, he said, or if he lost the government subsidy and were forced to pay the $2,000 cost for monthly prescriptions, he would again smoke marijuana for medicine.

However, David and the others all said the worst part of marijuana prohibition is having to obtain medicine on the black market.

Even if the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas initiate to legalize medical marijuana passes, patients will still be forced to obtain seeds from illicit sources to grow the herb.

As Wicker put it, the worst part of her ordeal was not going to court, but being labeled a felon because she attempted to control her condition with medical marijuana. 

Subsequent to the publication of the foregoing article by the Times, The following letter, dated October 27, 2000, was received by ARDPArk Inc.

"I moved to where my family lives. This way I have help when I need it. My shaking gets really bad a lot of the time. I'm not taking  morphine shots, but I am back on morphine pills. I would much rather smoke a little medical marijuana, but for now if I don't take the morphine I would be unable to do anything. If I go one day without the pills my family can tell it by the way I shake and have trouble talking.

"People are afraid to sign the petitions. I tell them it's just to say we  should vote on having a choice. But some people are saying whether they use marijuana or not, if they sign the petitions the law could  give them trouble of some kind or other.

"I get the thought, forgive them for they know not what they do -- every time someone says marijuana is a gateway to other drugs. If marijuana as a medical drug was legal, people using it for medical  use would not have to be around people who do illegal drugs. The commercial about doing things with your children so they don't use marijuana is silly. I wouldn't want children doing morphine.  However, morphine is a legal medical drug. So are a lot of other drugs that no one would want children to do."