Pubdate: Mon, 17 Dec 2001
Source: Racine Journal Times, The (WI)
Copyright: 2001, The Racine Journal Times
Contact:  http://www.journaltimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1659
Author: Rob Golub - Journal Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MAN'S MEDICINAL MARIJUANA USE LEADS TO FIRING

RACINE - Four years ago, Thermal Transfer Products, 5215 21st St., 
presented Don Lyons with a plaque for 20 years of faithful service.

On Oct. 19, the company presented him with a termination letter. He was 
terminated for violation of the firm's substance abuse policy.

Don Lyons admits he tested positive for marijuana, but he said he is not a 
recreational user. Lyons said he has carpal tunnel syndrome, a bad back and 
a painful leg, and for 20 years, marijuana has been able to alleviate his 
discomfort like nothing else.

For the small political engine which seeks to legalize medicinal use of 
marijuana, Lyons, of the north side of Racine, is fuel for the fire. He may 
be just the kind of guy they're fighting for.

A bill to essentially legalize the use of marijuana as medicine was 
introduced in Madison Tuesday, by state Reps. Frank Boyle, D-Superior, and 
Mark Pocan, D-Madison. The bill is based on a Hawaii law which allows 
patients to use medical marijuana if authorized by their doctor.

"Medical marijuana is the law in eight states and Wisconsin should be the 
ninth. Marijuana has a wide range of therapeutic applications that has 
proven to help patients, yet we deny that right for them to use it," Boyle 
said. "This does not make sense."

But not everyone feels doctors should be able to write prescriptions for 
marijuana. Arthur Derse is a doctor, lawyer and associate director of the 
Bioethics Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin - he's opposed to the 
idea.

Derse is concerned prescribed marijuana will fall into the wrong hands. He 
also notes that marijuana smoke contains cancer-causing ingredients and 
that it's hard to measure the dose.

A doctor can already prescribe the active ingredient of marijuana - THC - 
in pill form, but Derse admits that some people get greater benefit from 
smoking it. He admitted that for a small number of people, smoking 
marijuana can be the best path to relief.

"It's not in the same category as other addictive drugs," he said. "Cocaine 
- - very bad; marijuana - not so bad."

Derse is opposed to any legalization of marijuana, but he admits reasonable 
people can disagree with him. Some do.

The Nurses Association of Wisconsin, for example, supports legalizing the 
medical use of marijuana.

Gina Dennik-Champion, executive director, said her nurses can see when 
things aren't working. They're on the front lines, caring for patients who 
need marijuana to cope with real-world problems, she said.

"It's interesting that the FDA approved it as a pill form," Dennik-Champion 
said. "There's methods that work, and if that's what contributes towards 
overall patient care and health, then we'll support it."

Marijuana has proven useful for some terminally ill patients and for 
patients experiencing nausea during cancer treatments. "A lot of people, 
they can't take a pill or hold it down," said Pocan. "It allows for some 
patients a different sort of delivery."

Pocan feels his bill has a better shot at success than in the past. He said 
one hurdle, though, is the opposition of State Assembly Speaker Scott 
Jensen. "He has a lot of power," Pocan said.

So with state law - at least for now - still barring all use of marijuana, 
Lyons has decided to abandon the drug.

He has been out of work since he was fired Oct. 19. After 24 years at 
Thermal Transfer Products, he knows he needs a new job, and he knows he'll 
have to pass drug tests.

So Lyons said he's avoiding marijuana in favor of a basket full of pills, 
which does not work as well. The pills, he said, are better than nothing.

He is believable, but it's hard to confirm his pain. This complicates the 
medical marijuana issue. It's hard to say who truly needs it, and who will 
abuse it.

Lyons' story starts with getting his job at Thermal Transfer Products in 
1978. Working as a machinist, he developed carpal tunnel on the job, he 
said. He also tore ligaments in his leg while on vacation.

He used marijuana medically for 20 years, and the company never had a 
problem with him, he said. Representatives of Thermal Transfer Products 
were contacted for comment, but they did not return phone calls Friday.

Lyons feels the company didn't want him anymore, with his injuries, and his 
use of marijuana was an easy way to get rid of him. After he stumbled in 
his work area and hurt his wrist in May, he was ordered tested. He said he 
stumbled because of his bad leg, not because of smoking, but he flunked the 
drug test and was fired.

Lyons has documentation from his test which suggests marijuana can remain 
in your blood for weeks after use; Lyons said his work was unaffected by 
his marijuana use.

"I never pushed it or sold it," he said.

"What do you do when you get drunk?" he asked. "People are killed every day 
because of alcohol. The only thing I ever got was a parking ticket."

He said he uses no other illegal drugs and he doesn't get into any kind of 
trouble with the law. Lyons said he is just a man in pain.

"Marijuana seems to really do something for the lower back," he said. "I 
would testify to that."
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MAP posted-by: Alex