Pubdate: Thu, 21 Feb 2008
Source: Bradenton Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2008 Bradenton Herald
Contact: http://www.bradenton.com/contact_us/feedback/
Website: http://www.bradenton.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58
Author: Beth Burger
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

GROUP PUSHES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

BRADENTON - Cathy Jordan credits marijuana for keeping  her alive.

The 58-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with Lou  Gehrig's disease
when she was 36, has begun to lose  control of her voice and hands.

She and her husband, Bob, have become advocates for the  legalization
of marijuana.

"We don't know why it works, it just does," said Bob,  sitting next to
his wife Wednesday evening at a meeting  held at the Manatee Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship.  "We're in this to fight till the end."

Cathy Jordan smokes about one or two marijuana  cigarettes per night.
Without them, she says, she will  die.

The couple was among a dozen supporters who met  Wednesday to advocate
the legalization of marijuana for  medicinal purposes.

Noelle Davis, a federal policies consultant for the  Marijuana Policy
Project, said the Jordans are not  alone.

Davis has traveled throughout Florida and other parts  of the South
speaking to groups, encouraging activism  and awareness.

"We can break the shame and the silence of this issue,"  she
said.

The vision of Davis's group is to legalize marijuana  for both
medicinal and recreational use. The meeting on  Wednesday focused on
medicinal purposes.

Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube said he's not  against the federal
government growing and dispensing  the drug for medical uses, but his
experience in law  enforcement has led him to believe it should not be
  legalized for everyone.

"I understand those on the other side of the fence will  argue that
it's good for glaucoma or cancer because it  eases pain," Steube said.
"I am not against the U.S.  government growing and dispensing through
a  prescription."

The prolonged smoking of marijuana leads to it being  stored in the
fatty tissues of the body such as the  brain and reproductive organs,
which can lead to health  defects, he said.

He said he doesn't remember ever arresting anyone on  drug charges who
claimed the drug was for medicinal  purposes.

According to Davis, there are only a handful of people  who have legal
prescriptions receiving 300 marijuana  cigarettes. She would like to
see legislators both at a  state and federal level make it so those
with medical  conditions can qualify for use.

"There are people who need this to survive. This is not  about having
a party," she said.

Marijuana is considered the No. 2 drug of choice in  Manatee County,
he said. Cocaine is the most popular.

Most of the marijuana found by investigators is  imported from Mexico.
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MAP posted-by: Derek