ANAHEIM : Marijuana for Use by Patients Supported

A rally supporting medical uses of marijuana drew about 30 people Thursday to La Palma Park, where they heard accounts of how the drug helps ease the suffering of seriously ill patients.

Organizing the event was the California branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The group supports pending state legislation that would allow physicians to prescribe marijuana as a treatment for glaucoma, chronic pain, chemotherapy-related nausea and other ailments.

“We know we have the people behind us,” NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer said. “It’s the politicians who are scared.” If current legislative attempts fail, Gieringer said, his group will launch a ballot initiative in August that would let California voters decide the issue.

Among the rally speakers was Modesto resident Craig McClain, who was disabled by a construction accident five years ago and was convicted in April of growing marijuana. McClain says that smoking the drug relieves his severe spinal pain for up to two hours at a time and is a more effective treatment than the legal marijuana pills he is now taking.

The pills “take hours to kick in,” McClain said. “When you hit that 10 on the Richter scale, you need relief now.”

McClain was allowed to appear at the rally as a result of a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU attorneys obtained a preliminary injunction last week that prevents Anaheim from enforcing a local ordinance that bans convicted drug offenders from entering city parks.

Samuel Mistrano, legislative director for the Southern California ACLU, described the seldom-used Anaheim law as a well-intentioned but misguided attempt to address drug problems. The ACLU argues that the law goes too far, resulting in violations of First Amendment rights.