 [13] NORML (1:375/48)  NORML 
 Msg  : #5115 [156]                                                             
 From : Carl Olsen                          1:290/2         Sat 09 Apr 94 19:18 
 To   : All                                                                     
 Subj : RALLY                                                                   

Storm Laker continues fight for marijuana medicine in rally
Fuhrmans legacy lives on in bill
By MICHAEL ROLANDS
Pilot Staff Writer
        The late Sen. Linn Fuhrmans words are still living in the state capitol.
        One issue Fuhrman championed -- legalization of marijuana for medicinal
uses -- may be debated soon on the Senate floor.  Fuhrman sponsored a resolution
urging the federal government to approve medical access to marijuana because of
its value in treating glaucoma, cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.  A similar
measure was approved 50-0 by the Senate last year.
        For Lakeside resident Barbara Douglass, the issue is of primary
importance.  Douglass, who is living with multiple sclerosis, is one of eight
people in the United States who was part of a federal program allowing marijuana
use for medical purposes.  The marijuana and other treatments have allowed
Douglass to lead a virtually normal life.  But friends of hers who also suffer
from multiple sclerosis are not as lucky,  she said.  The program was ended
under the Reagan administration.  "I was  the last person to get it," Douglass
said.
        "Theres a lot of people out there who need this miracle if Iowa would
have the compassion," she said.
        A Saturday rally on the west steps of the Capitol Building in Des
Moines will urge lawmakers to approve the Senate resolution and a House version
that was approved 13-0 in the House Human Resources Committee.  Douglass said
she will be there to help push for change.
        Douglass, who has fought for years to have marijuana legalized as  a
drug to be prescribed by doctors, said she feels a shift in attitude at  a
national level.  "I do because of our Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders,"  she
said.  "She is helping this entire country to realize the medicinal benefits of
marijuana."
        Storm Lake Pilot Tribune, Wednesday, April 6, 1994, Page 1.

--- Tabby 3.0
 * Origin: _ZSys_BBS_515/279-3073_D.M.,IA_Silicon_Prairie_v.32 (1:290/2)

