And we spent all night in the
emergency room until we could get an MRI the next
morning, and they came in and said "I'm sorry.  You
have cancer."

He had five weeks of radiation, and we
were staying in Ames with friends from our church,
and when we went to move back into our house after
that, we found out a black mold had taken over our
home, and we lost everything.

We moved to Ames, and he seemed to be
doing okay but not really getting any better, and
he was in and out of the hospital.  And in April of
2008, he collapsed on the floor at home in front of
the children, and I had to call 911 being eight
months pregnant.

They took him.  He was in the I.C.U.
They told me if they didn't start chemotherapy
right away, he would be dead within a week or so.
It was that far advanced.

The drugs that he had for chemotherapy
caused neuropathy.  It caused horrible nausea.  In
eight months he lost over 100 pounds.  He's 6 foot
3.  After he came home, he was so weak, and he
still continued to lose weight.  And I had a new

And he continued to lose weight.  Once
he hit 119 pounds and the nausea medications
weren't working and the Marinol wasn't working, I
decided I couldn't sit around and watch him starve
to death anymore.

So I went to a friend and said "Can
you help me?" He was taking 30 OxyContin every
five days for the pain.  And within an hour or two
of taking it, he says "When can I have more pain
medication?"

And I said "You can't.  I can't give
you anymore right now." And my kids had to watch
him.  He was like an old man rolled up in a ball in
the living room, and he was 35.  I was like a
single mom who had four kids and an elderly parent
to take care of.

And so I took matters into my own
hands, and did what had to do because I wanted
my husband back, and my children needed a father.
And so he was on three different kinds of nausea
medications and appetite stimulants, including
Marinol.

As soon as he took marijuana for the
first time, he ate a meal and not just a bite, but
he ate a full-sized meal for an adult.  And he
didn't throw up anymore, and he went and laid down,
and he wasn't in pain.  And he cried, and he says
"Why is this so wrong?  What is so wrong about not
being in pain?"

And I said I don't know.  I don't
know."  And I finally had Kevin back because before
then, it was just this little old man in pain.  I
finally saw the person that I fell in love with
again and that I had children with and I wanted to
spend my lite with.

We celebrated our l0th wedding
anniversary while he was in the hospital.  I'm 34.
I have a friend, Senator Beal, and he told me when
we were talking about this that he said to me, and
I quote, "Generally Iowans know the right thing to
do."  We trust our doctors with heroin and opium
derivatives, amphetamines, and cocaine during heart
surgery.  I think we can trust them with some
marijuana.

And for those of you who would say,
well, what about children?  What are we going to
do?  What about the children?  Well, responsible

In our society we don't penalize the
majority of people because a minority of people
might try to take advantage of something.  We
shouldn't make people criminals, and you are in
effect making people criminals because you will not
do your duty by rescheduling this substance.

My daughter has something she'd like
to say.  Her name is Morgan.  Her name is Morgan
and she's ten.

MORGAN FEELEY:  I think that marijuana
should be a medicine for everyone to use if they
really need it.  I don't think anyone would take it
if they didn't need it.  Marijuana is a really good
painkiller.  It helps you sleep and relieves
nausea.

My dad was very sick for a really long
time, and some of the medicines they gave him
didn't really help at all with any of those things.
A lot of them just made them worse.

The Constitution says we have a right
to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
How can you pursue happiness if you feel yucky all
the time?  Marijuana is a very useful plant.  It

AMANDA FEELEY:  Thank you.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Our next
speaker would be speaker No. 7.  However, let's
take a five-minute break right now.  Thank you.

(Short recess.)

LLOYD JESSEN:  We will resume the
hearing.  Would Speaker No, 7 come to the stage.

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  And while he's
coming down here, we are are done with the speakers who
have signed up, so from now on, it's just going to
be going in numerical order.

JEFF ELTON:  Greetings, as the draft
board says, and thank you for letting me be here.
First of all.  I'd like to point out a few things.
I've learned a lot today.

BOARD MEMBER BENJAMIN:  Your name.

JEFF ELTON:  Thank you.  My name is
Jeff Elton, J-e-f-f E-l-t-o-n.  I live in
Des Moines, Iowa.

Concerning SF 293 coming up next year,
that will not allow people to drive under the
influence of marijuana.  It will not allow smoking
in public places, and if we have a dispensary, it
will be for nonprofit.

One question for everybody to
consider.  What kind of government prohibits
research into any drug that helps the human
condition?  I'll leave that up to you.

And straight to the Board of Pharmacy,
there is no need to reinvent the wheel.  Scientific
proof of the effect of cannabis is here and is
available.  It's -- it's not new.  It's old.

I suffer from diabetic neuropathic
gastroparesis, paralyzed stomach.  I also suffer
from GERD and diabetic neuropathy, all of which are
greatly and safely treated with medical marijuana.

The most severe disease, gastroparesis, its
symptoms are delayed stomach emptying, chronic
nausea, vomiting, and wasting syndrome.

Marinol doesn't work for me.  I've
tried it for years.  The biggest benefit that
Marinol has as a citizen of the state of Iowa is it
legally allows me to have THC in my system in case
I ever have to drop a UA or they take blood.  Okay?
And they say "You're driving under the influence."
No, I'm not.  I'm on Marinol.  You know, doesn't
have the psychoactive ingredient.  Even though it
has THC, the psychoactive part has been removed.

Most -- like I say, gastroparesis is

Vaporized marijuana is the healthiest
way to get the carinnabinoids into your bloodstream.
It also allows the patient a better way to titrate
their dose and prevents the release of harmful
chemicals like benzene and the tars and carcinogens
that go along with smoking.

The inhalation of marijuana vapors
gives me safe, effective, and immediate relief from
chronic nausea and vomiting.  There is no drug in
today's pharmacopeia that can claim that.

The only help my doctors can offer me
since Marinol does not work and because Cesamet is
restricted, emphasis added, to cancer patients 18
years and older suffering from chemo-related nausea
only, can get Reglan/metoclopramide, which has
already been mentioned here today and which there
are active lawsuits going on right now in this
country because of the damage from this drug.

As my digestive specialist handed me
my Reglan prescription, he said "Do not take Reglan
on a regular basis for it causes irreversible
Parkinson-like shakes and tremors."  This is not
rare.  This is a common side effect.

Though rarer, it does also cause
neuroleptic malignant syndrome, which is fatal.
Currently there are laws pertaining to the damages
of using Reglan, as I mentioned.  Therefore, a man
like me who has lifelong gastroparesis, paralyzed
stomach, who suffers chronic nausea as bad, if not
worse, than any chemo-related nausea, I must live
as a sufferer and live in fear of arrest,
prosecution, imprisonment, forfeiture of money,
property, housing, educational and health-care
governmental benefits just to try to control the
symptoms of my lifelong disease.  There is no
justice in this.  This is not fair.

Using the benefit versus risk factor,
there is no doubt that marijuana is by far safer,
healthier, and more effective than any prescription
drug in today's pharmacopeia in controlling my
chronic nausea, vomiting, chronic back pain.  and

To force me to go without treacnent or
to use Reglan is tantamount to a death sentence
with torture.  Is this the United States of
America?  It is today.  But you have the
opportunity to change that.  Please let me and the
others have safe and legal access to the only
medicine that helps, medical marijuana.

As a citizen of the state of Iowa, I
should not havee to live with violence, corruption,
and loss of personal liberty -- this is a quote
from the alcohol prohibition days -- that was --
simply by trying to control severe symptoms caused
by my lifelong disease.

I can't believe the comparisons
between alcohol prohibition and cannabis
prohibition.

For the -- for the Board of Pharmacy
to recommend negative or give a negative
recommendation and for the legislature to not pass
SF 293, that would be the real crime.  Thank you.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 8.  Speaker No. 8?  Okay.  No. 9.  Do we have
No. 9?

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  Are you No. 9?

EUGENE BROOME:   Yes, ma'am.

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  Okay.  I'll bring
this down here.

EUGENE BROOME:  Hello there.  My name
is Eugene Broome.

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  Here.  Let me get
you another one.  That one is not working too well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Speak into the end
of it as well.

EUGENE BROOME:  Hello?  Can you hear
me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Speak into the end
of it.

EUGENE BROOME:  Okay.  My name is
Eugene Broome, and I live in Des Moines, and I've
got a disease called -- I'm not going to take up a
lot of time, but I've got a disease called
transverse myelitis which is the inflammation of
the spinal cord, and I've got severe nerve damage
in my legs.  And I've got severe nerve damage in my
legs.

And I'm not bad off as a lot of these
other people are, but when I -- when I lay down at
night to go to sleep, my legs jerk so bad that I

And I have tried the marijuana, and it
seems to alleviate that pain.  I mean the jerking
of it, it's like my legs will spasm, and I've
counted them, and I could -- I could count -- I
mean I'm telling you the truth.  My legs will jerk
five times a minute.  My left leg will do that the
most.  My right one is not so bad.

But to live with that, I've been
paralyzed since 2002 or 2003.  It's been such a
long time ago.  But I've been dealing with this
since then.  I was on Baclofen, and the Baclofen
never ever helped.  I took so much Baclofen, I
would have incontinence.  I couldn't control
anything, and then -- so I just -- and I realized
the Baclofen wasn't working, so I just up and quit
taking that.

And then I was introduced to the
smoke, and I took a couple puffs, and my -- my legs
didn't bother me anymore.

But that's -- that's the only thing I
have to say, and if you would do something like
this, I think it would be beneficial for people
like me and for other cases here too.  It would be
a godsend, I think.

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  Could you spell
your last name, please?

EUGENE BROOME:  Broome, B-r-o-o-m-e.

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  B-r-o-m-e?

EUGENE BROOME:  B-r-o-o-m-e.

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  Two Os?

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 7?  All right.  No. 9.

ADDY:  You want 10.

LLOYD JESSEN:  I'm sorry.  We're on
No. 10 next.  Ten.  Eight is not here?  No.  All
right.  Then we'll go to No. 10.

MERLYN CORDES:  My name is Merlyn
M-e-r-l-y-n, Cordes, C-o-r-d-e-s.  I have
pancreatic cancer.  I have thyroid cancer.  I'm in
Stage IV.  I don't know how much longer I have
left.

But I'm going to tell you guys from
the bottom of my heart, I was just released from
the VA Hospital.  I'm a veteran.  And my blood
pressure went to 235 over 112.  They put on a
nitroglycerin patch which made my blood pressure
increase, so they ripped it off.  They washed me
off.

I was on an IV, and they gave me

something through the IV that I didn't know what it
was.  They didn't tell me at the time.  But they
were rushing in and out of my room.  And it was
something -- I'm probably not correct on the
pronunciation but Dilaudid or Dilaudid?  It's a
derivative of opium.

Well, all it did was made my head
really fuzzy, and I couldn't think clearly, but I
fell asleep, and I had the tumor in the pancreas
was pushing against the small intestine, causing a
blockage.  And I was always on four blood pressure
pills, and I had the opportunity to try to smoke
marijuana.

As a matter of fact, I called down
here first.  I'm 67 years old, and I lost my mother
last year at 90 with colon cancer, and I was
afraid.  I don't have a record, a police record,
and I called, and I asked the lady, "Will there be
police officers there?"  And she said no.

So I came down just to ask you,
please, legalize it for medical use because I lost,
from January until March, 65 pounds.  I'm a big
person.  I was bigger.  I'm maintaining my weight
now at 275, and I have to be a criminal.  I have to
go against the laws.  I don't want to do that.

I've never done that.  I'm a church-going person,
and I love the Lord.  I don't want to do things
like that.

But I don't want the pain.  I can't
take the pain.  They told me if I get blocked up
again, I'll have to come in, and they'll have to
put hoses down my nose to suck the bile out of me,
and can't go through that.  I'm going to die
first.  I won't go through that.

I beg of you from the bottom of my
heart to please understand this makes me feel
better.  I don't have the pain, and I can eat some
food, and I don't throw up.  Thank you.  I'm sorry.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 11?

JAMES BOETTCHER:  Howdy.  My name is
James Boettcher, last name B-o-e-t-t-c-h-e-r.  Kind
of really don't know how to begin, but in coming,
didn't come with a speech prepared, so kind of
going to wing it.

2002 I joined the military.  And in
2004 I was injured very severely and had to have my
spine fused together.  I would take 12 different
medications while I was enlisted.  Eight of those
would all be narcotics from morphine sulfates,

And they finally retired me.  I am on
what's called the TDRL, temporary disabled
retirement list.  And in Septernber, September 7
actually, that will be my five-year marker on TDRL,
and then they'll transfer me to permanent
retirement because of injuries and stuff that I
sustained while on active duty.

And when I was retired, I kept my
military benefits there, my insurance and whatnot,
and that has been what's -- what has helped me out
here from my retirement up until today because I
see the doctor quite often for my spinal problems
and whatnot and nerve damage I have inside my leg
and all the stuff that's transpired afterwards.

The guy that you see before you today
used to weigh 170 pounds.  He's a 300-pound man
now, so that -- I've doubled in size, and I'm lucky
that I can still walk now.

After I came out of my surgery, I had
to relearn how to walk, clothe myself, and go to
the bathroom, if you want to talk about that.  But

But I take these medications to feel
normal, feel well.  Instead of concentrating very
hard on pain control so that I don't feel it as
often, these medications help to numb it away, but
from such long-term usage, I mean I take Fentanyl.
Most of you have heard about it, and like the news,
they're being recalled, but it's a patch that you
put on your skin, and it transfers your narcotics
directly through the skin.  This way you don't have
to take pills all the time.

When you've started to feel the pain,
the pain is already there.  You're just trying to
combat it, but at least with this transdermal-type
system, I don't have to worry about it for three
days, the usage and stuff.

But one day -- I want to say five
years after my fusion and whatnot -- I was in
discussions with my pain specialist at Mary Greeley
Medical Center there, and I wanted to know, what
are going to be the long-terms of me taking this?
Because I'm going to take pain medication for the

And I asked him because I was starting
to pass proteins and stuff in my kidneys when I'd
go to the restroom and stuff.  I did urinalysis,
and I was starting to pass proteins, and it was a
sign that my kidneys and liver were on the wavering
side there of not wanting to work anymore because
of all the drugs that have been pushed through it
here.

And he didn't know the answer to that
question of what's going to happen in the long
term?  I mean I'm 31 years old now.  When I was
disabled in -- I was 20 -- 25 or 26.  So I've been
taking the narcotics since then.  They're daily.

And I asked him what he would do.  And
if this was California, he would just prescribe
medical marijuana for me, but it's not, and we went
with what pain medications that I have right now
and do the increases in dosage there as things have
permitted, like the Fentanyl patch that I just

And I'm sure we're just going to keep
increasing, increasing, but if there's something
natural that's out there that's one I can't --
don't have to worry about there being a hole inside
the patch and having it pulled out and stuff there
and you could die because you get put on your
medications, like when I sit inside of a hot tub to
relieve the -- the muscles inside my back there, to
relieve that tightening there.

One thing I didn't know about, wearing
a duragesic, can't sit inside a hot tub because it
pumps medication directly into you right away
because you're sweating.  But if there's something
natural out there and it could be tested, you know,
so forth there that could be legalized and either
be in the food form or smoked form or whatnot, I'd
like to try it and see if that will take away -- I
take five or six different narcotic medications
right now instead of the eleven that I was taking
before, but if I could take one substance that
would alleviate five different pills that I have to

Before my injury, I would have been
one of the most stark people against marijuana
legalization, but I've seen both sides of it.  Now
that I've been injured and know what it's like to
be in pain daily and know that this is probably
shortening my life, taking all the opiates that I'm
taking right now -- I mean I don't know what the
outcome is for lengthy long term, but having to
take them from age 25 on, I'm pretty sure that
shortens up the life span just a little bit.

So I thank you guys for listening to
me.  And hopefully you guys will come to a good
conclusion.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No.  12.

TRACY MILLER:  Hi.  My name is Tracy
Miller, T-r-a-c-y M-i-l-l-e-r, and I live here in
Des Moines.  I'm 55 years old, and as you've seen
from most people, you know, that have come up here
that have spoke on behalf their own health, not
16-year-old kids searching out, you know, illegal
drugs.

But I just --I wrote this down, and

I have an anxiety disorder which was
diagnosed at the same time that I was diagnosed
with -- with a nervous stomach.  And I was on Xanax
and pain meds and pain meds -- and medication for
constipation.  And it was the '70s were happening,
and cannabis helped all of my symptoms a great
deal.  It stopped my nausea and calmed my anxiety,
helped me with my pain.

But the use of cannabis did not lead
me into other street drugs.  It was not a gateway
drug.  It was a drug that I used to help me.  I
didn't use it recreationally and sit around with my
friends and -- it was a thing that I did by myself.

And it was illegal, and that
compromised my walk with the Lord because it was
illegal.  It made me feel that I couldn't be in
church because I was using marijuana, and it was
illegal, so it was -- it was a very scary thing for
me to think that somebody from my church might find
out or being arrested and be on the front page

It just was -- that was the way, and
had to buy street drugs that I didn't know what
was -- the marijuana was even cured in.  I didn't
know what it had in it which could have caused, you
know, many other health issues for me, and so that
was really scary.

But at 41 I was diagnosed with MS.
I'm currently on approximately ten different
medications, blood pressure, Tegretol, chronic pain
meds, methadone, Vicodin, stomach meds, bowel meds,
anxiety meds, and more.

I started using cannabis at 17.  After
a while, after I got married and had my kids, I
stopped using it for eight years in the '80s, and
started just using my pharmaceutical medication
because I was afraid, and I didn't want my kids to
know.  I hid it very well,

But I started again in the '90s.  Now
I've stopped using for approximately one and a half
years.  When you're on pain meds and anxiety
medications, you sign a pain contract, and that

And then of course, all of the
physical symptoms, more nausea, taking more nausea
medlcation, more pain medication, more and more and
more, which enabled me to -- sorry -- it made it so
that I couldn't go out -- the numbers of pain
medications and anxiety medications to go out and
drive and be safe as I could with smoking marijuana
was a much safer alternative for me personally.

And like I said, you take a chance
with health issues on -- on marijuana that you buy
on the street.  I only have one-half of one
functioning kidney.  My sister's kidneys failed,
and I donated her one of my kidneys, and I trusted
God to take care of my other kidney.  But I do only
have one-half of one functioning kidney.

And the amount of Tylenol that I have
to take that's in my -- my Vicodin, I barely make
it under the guidelines of how much Tylenol that I
should take in my body.  So I try not to take so
many.  Still hurts, and it still hurts a lot, even
when I take my pain medication.  It doesn't keep it

As a wife and a mother, it was always
kept secret.  My husband didn't know until later
on, and my children didn't know until they were
teens.

Legalizing marijuana for medical
purposes would help so many of my diseases and so
many of -- so many others.  I would be able to
function so much better.  I am disabled, and I am
on Social Security Disability, so I obviously
cannot work any longer because it's in my CS, and
so it has made it so that I can't use my hands.

I help with other friends that are
disabled.  My husband is deceased now for just six
years, and my children are now grown, so I got a
dog so that I could get out, and I can walk, and so
now I can walk.

My pain medications, I just -- you
know, I just don't really take enough, but I know
I've got to get out and walk this dog, and so I
walk this dog, and I try not to be gone for more
than one hour because I take my medications that I
take at night, which are many, and they will cause

But I truly believe that if you would
legalize medicinal marijuana for all who are coming
behind me and all -- everyone else that has spoken,
it would be -- it would be a wonderful thing for
us.

And I truly believe that vaporizing
cannabis is the best form of dosing.  Smoking in
any form is bad for you.  It's bad for your lungs.
It's not a healthy thing.  It's more costly to
smoke marijuana, and it is so much more dangerous.

I raised my two children, and I even
homeschooled them while using marijuana.  And my
children now know, and we talk about medical
issues, and they are 100 percent in agreement with
me that medical use of marijuana is the best thing
for everyone who has illnesses that it could help.

And I thank you all for being here,
and I thank you for hearing me.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 13.

JESS TEPNER:  Good afternoon.  My name

I mean what I see in him, you know,
but that's how -- that's all I have to say.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 14.

RALPH SMITH:  Members of the board,
ladies and gentlemen, my name is Ralph Smith.  I am
an attorney.  I represent a group called Patients
Out of Time.  We are an advocacy group for
patients.  We put on seminars for doctors and
nurses.

Our first seminar was here at Iowa
State in the year 2000, and since then, we have put
on five -- we are getting ready to put on our sixth
one.  We also have put on seminars in Portland,

You, members of the board, are just
listening to a few stories from a few people.  I
have listened to thousands of stories.  I have been
involved with cannabis for -- and the law for
40 years.  I'm from your sister state, Nebraska,
just on the other side of the river where we've had
rather enlightened possession laws for that
40 years.

We don't have a lot of problems in
Nebraska.  We have some with the federal
government.  But possession of marijuana in
Nebraska is not a crime if it's less than an ounce,
and until just this last year, possession of less
than a pound has been punishable by a maximum of
seven days in jail.

We, however, still have many patients
who are adversely affected by the worst problem
that marijuana has, and that is that you can go to
jail.  The -- the voices that I think that you
should listen to are the voices of the literally --
of those who literally have millions of hours of
unnecessary human suffering.

The problem with cannabis is not that
it's -- whether or not it's good for you.  The
problem is that it's probably too good.  It might
put a good portion of the people involved with
profiting from some -- from it being illegal out of
business.  That includes the prison industry, maybe
a good portion of pharmacists, and I just can't
begin to name those who profit in the millions of
dollars that they gather in the profiting of it
being illegal.

But if you heard the just thousands of
stories that I've heard, they mirror the ones that
you're starting to listen to today, and after a
while, I think you'll understand that it helps
people on almost all levels, whether or not they
have a menstrual cramp or they have some terrible
cancer or some other kind of problem.  And after
you look at it from, I think, a fair perspective, I
think you'll come up with the conclusion that you
have to do something.

There is just too much unnecessary
suffering, and those voices will scream loud in the
night if you don't do what you should do.

I'm hoping that we will open up a good
dialogue with you.  We are going to submit to you

We have most of them videotaped, and
we have those available and will submit them all to
you, and I would very much appreciate any comments
or questions that you might have for me.  I'd be
happy to talk with you about it, and I can -- we
could literally talk for hours and days.

So that's really all I have to say,
but I would, like I say, welcome any questions that
you have.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  As we go
forward, we probably will have some questions for
you.

RALPH SMITH:  Thank you, gentlemen and
folks.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Okay.
Speaker No. 15.

JEFF:  Hi.  My name is Speaker No. 15.
My name is Jeff.  And I have a lowly little
master's degree in psychology, so you probably
heard from folks with a lot bigger credentials than
mine.  I'm assuming you folks have some background

So you probably know that not all
drugs are created equal.  Some are more harmfull.
Some are more addicting.  Some are more dangerous
because of their overdose potential.  Most have
some sort of side effect, and some drugs have a
psychoactive effect.

Marijuana is not particularly harmful.
It isn't addicting.  Nobody has ever died from an
overdose.  It does have a psychoactive effect.  But
it also has a side effect, which is why I'm here.
Marijuana suppresses nausea.  This is -- this is
common knowledge at this point.  I don't know if
any more research needs to be done on this, but if
for no other reason than that, please try to be
objective and get past some of the hysteria that
has accompanied marijuana throughout the years.

Oh, God, I remember when they told us
that marijuana would cause hallucinosis, psychosis.
It would cause males to grow breasts.  They tried
to say all sorts of things about marijuana over the
years.

But it does suppress nausea.  And if
you've ever watched somebody you love go through
radiation and chemo, the idea of withholding this

DEBBIE JORGENSON:  You have eight more
minutes.

JEFF:  I'll go faster than that.  Oh,
I guess that about covers it.  Thanks for
listening.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 16.

ELIZABETH ANDERSON:  My name is
Elizabeth Anderson, E-l-i-z-a-b-e-t-h, Anderson,
A-n-d-e-r-s-o-n.  I live in Johnston.

My perspective on this issue may be
different from some.  My father was a doctor,
general practitioner in Des Moines, and he is now
deceased.  And so I am aware of the importance of
the Board of Pharmacy Examiners.

Now, years ago I thought -- years ago
I thought about becoming a doctor.  In the
Hippocratic oath, which is terribly important to
doctors, the doctors exhorted to always help the
patient, if possible, to heal.  That, my father
translated to me.

If there is a drug out there that will
help people to feel better, then I am of the view I
don't see why people should not be given a chance
to take the drug.  Yes, I realize there are aspects
with marijuana, and that is another issue.

But I am asking you, please try to
craft something to give people who are ill, people
who need to take medical marijuana for whatever
condition, for whatever illness, please try to come
up with something so that they are able to take it.

If you can do that and to help
alleviate human suffering, then you truly, truly
would have performed a miracle for those people.
Thank you.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 17.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Peace, Reverend.

TERRY MITCHELL:  My name is Terry
Mitchell, M-i-t-c-h-e-l-l.  I'm all the hell my
mama ever raised.

And I've got degenerative disk disease
in my back.  Depending on how long it's been since
I had cannabis, I either don't need this cane at
all and I can work my butt off or I'll walk around
looking like a gorilla with my knuckles dragging

Because the medication that I can use,
I get it in spurts.  People come over and visit,
and they bring me a little, and that manages to
keep me going.  I can't afford it.  Disability
don't pay enough.

And -- oh, the heck with me.  I'm up
here to talk about the literally hundreds of people
that don't come to the rally every year because "My
boss might see me on TV.  He might know that I go
home at night and smoke a joint because my back is
sore from busting my butt all day."  Excuse my
language, but I get wired.

Somebody said something about
Reverend.  Well, they call me Reverend Reefer
because there's so many different uses for the
cannabis plant.  It's hard for me to zero in on
just one.

But for medical purposes, I don't
know.  Literally -- I've had literally thousands of
people that have come up and told me "Yeah, I used
to be a drunk.  I used to beat up on the old lady.
Now I'm working a job.  I go home.  I relax.  I

Now, we've already determined that the
smoking part is not good.  It's no better than
cigarettes except cigarettes are tar-based and
cannabis is oil-based, and I think that has a lot
to do with the differences, but the fact is there
are literally thousands of people -- I pass out
these little cards, says "If you want true answers
to questions about cannabis, glve me a call."

And I have literally received hundreds
of calls.  Most of them were smart-alecks.  "Hey,
where can get some smoke, man?"

But don't even -- I don't even toy
with them people.  I say "If you've got intelligent
questions, I want to hear them" because I've
studied this plant for the last 15 years.  It's the
only thing that gives me relief.

They have tried everything up to
Hydrocodone 7.5s for my back.  All they do is make
me feel very unsafe driving.  And they got to where
the prescribed amount wasn't enough.  And anytime
I'm using the prescribed medications, I've got to
use this (indicating) because my knee is subject to
lock out on me at any time.  When my back stabs me,

I worked for seven years because I
couldn't actually hold a job because you've got to
twiddle in a cup for somebody, so I scrapped metal
for seven years, and that's -- that's a bust-tail
job in anybody's book.

And -- but the cannabis let me do it
by -- just like you'd prescribe a medication to
somebody, you take this much three, four times a
day or as needed, the same way with the cannabis.
Ny back would get to aching.  I'd take two or three
hits.  Not enough to get stoned but just enough so
that it worked and let me go back to work.

I don't like being on disability.  I'd
like to go back to work.  If you all could help me,
I'd sure appreciate it, and I know a lot of other
people in this same boat, a lot of other people.

And as far as the gateway drug
business, I've helped a whole lot of people get off
the hard drugs by prescribing cannabis.  It helps.
All I can do is like everybody else out here, ask
you, help us out, will you?  We need it.  We don't
necessarily want it, but we need it.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker

ADDY:  My last name is Addy, A-d-d-y.
I'm a retired physician, and I have to say that
I -- if I -- if I were to have taken notes, I would
reiterate what our vascular surgeon said earlier
because I have had obviously similar experiences as
he.

I always -- but I'm not going to
reiterate what he said to you.  You heard him.  But
I'll double it.  The chronic pain patients that I
always saw, that I used to see, I always worried
about them because I knew that we weren't really
helping them with the Percocets and Percodans and
all of that kind of stuff.

And I always worried because I thought
are they hoarding because because they're not
really getting much relief?  Or is some of their
medication being diverted and -- and that kind of
thing?  And I wish, hearing these people here
today, that I would have had this in my armatarium
to have offered them.  The antidotes that I've
heard today are very interesting and moving, and
just thank you for all of these stories.  It's
given me a different view of this -- this thing.

And if I were to make a

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  Speaker
No. 19.  No. 19?  Is No. 20 here?

TRESA RAMSBOTTOM:  My name is Tresa
Ramsbottom.  Do you need me to spell that?
T-r-e-s-a, last name is R-a-m-s-b-o-t-t-o-m.  And I
live here in Des Moines.

And I didn't plan on coming to speak.
I just was going to sit, but have -- in '92 I
was in a -- I rolled my van.  My van landed on tcp
of me, and I got cracked vertebraes in my neck and
back.  They're deteriorating, and they need
replacement, and they tell me I'm too young for a
replacement.  They told me that five years ago.

I have diabetes.  I'm supposed to eat
right.  I can't eat unless I smoke.  I'm nauseated.
It takes all that away.  Takes my pain away.  I'm
prescribed Vicodin.  It helps some.  They give me
120 a month.  It's not enough for my pain.

And I just -- like I said, I'm
nauseated every morning.  I get up in the middle of
the night.  It's easier to light a joint, take a
couple hits, and go back to sleep than to get in my
purse or my side, get up and get something to drink
and take a pill.  It's easier.  Just have problems
sleeping, so I smoke to go to sleep.

And that's you know, there's a lot
of people.  I had a friend that had cancer, and her
dad had cancer.  They smoked.  Both dead now, but
they smoked, and it helped them.

And that's basically all I have to
say.  Thank you.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Thank you.  No. 21?

TINA GROVER:  Hi.  I'm just here to
read a letter my mom wrote.  She's sorry she
couldn't make it today.

LLOYD JESSEN:  Can you give us your
name or your mom's name?

TINA GROVER:  My mom is Tina Grover,
G-r-o-v-e-r,

Okay.  During the year of 2008, I was
placed in charge of the care of my mother whom I
cared for under hospice conditions due to her
terminal illness.  I have seen firsthand the

I witnessed firsthand the negative and
withering effects of chemotherapy and radiation on
my mother's appetite.  We followed all treatment
options and pain management, but the management of
her pain was anything but that, I assure you.  She
was dying.

We were informed two months after the
removal of a 22-pound tumor on her ovary that
another had grown back in its place and had spread
to her liver, lungs, et cetera.  At this point, it
was an attempt to keep her comfortable.  Upon one
of the many visits to her doctor for a treatment
checkup, I inquired about a prescription for the
use of medicinal marijuana for my mother.

I was stunned to find that it was
illegal in the state of Iowa.  I asked the doctor
if there were -- if there were a possibility of
taking my mother to a doctor in a state that it was
legal just to obtain the -- just to obtain the
prescription.

I was then informed that even with a
prescription that as soon as we entered back into
Iowa that legal -- that that legal prescription

I then asked her if there would be any
adverse side effects from any of the current
treatments or medications that was -- that she was
on if she were to take it.  She stated that there
would be no adverse side effects that she knew of
other than the sleepiness, increased appetite,
forgetfulness, and the possibility of a feeling of
paranoia if took -- if too much was consumed at
once.

I was told off the record to make sure
it was in small quantities until we knew how it
would affect her.  I am not a drug user, have never
been arrested, nor do I have any interest in
marijuana becoming available to the public for
recreational use.  However, after expounding all
pain relief and appetite-inducing options, I was
willing to do anything to help her; yes, even risk
breaking the law.

I obtained a small amount of marijuana
for her to try.  Upon her first time using it, her
pain was decreased, and she was sleepy but stayed
awake.  She lasted longer by taking one puff off a
marijuana cigarette between the times that she
would need her pain medicine.

She said that it would greatly -- that
it greatly relieved her pain and did not increase
her appetite, but it did take away the nausea,
allowing her the simple pleasure of the urge to
eat.  She also said she felt less clouded in her
head since she was able to go longer without
feeling the need to take her pain medicine.

I understand that drug use is against
the law as well as it should be.  However, making
it allowable for medicinal reasons seems quite
appropriate since I have seen its attributes.

I have asked God to forgive -- I've
asked God's forgiveness for the law that I broke,
and I think that he understands since my heart was
in the right place.  I hope and pray none of you
listening to this today have to see what limits
you're willing to go to if you're forced to watch a
fellow loved one suffer.

If you are, I believe that you will do
just as I did and turn heaven and earth -- turn to
heaven and earth to see that they are made
comfortable in their last days.  I do hope that you
will consider my testimony since my mother is not
here any longer to give hers.

Please consider the suffering that