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 Once a glaucoma patient realizes marijuana's thera-
 peutic utility_ he/she encounters a paradox. Since marijuana is
 iiiii_z
 generally, albeit illegally, available throughout the United
 States, and because obtaining licit access to the drug is
 extremely difficult_ many glaucoma patients are forced to obtain
 the drug outside r_/ulated channels and must employ it without
 benefit of competent madical supervisiono Not only is this a
 tragic catch-22, but it clearly demonstrates the extent to which
 _laucoma patients truly accept marijuanaSs medical utility. Not
 only have patients gone to extraordinary lengths to exhaust every
 legal means of securing marijuanas but many have elected to risk
 using illicit supplies.
 Jean Barnhart_ a glaucoma patient in her fiftiesp is an
 excellent example of this unfortunate process° After reading
 i_ information from her local library, Jean tried for nearly a
 decade to find someone who could even tell her and her physician
 __i/ (°..continued)
 of glaucomas declared:
 While Z was in Vietnam, I noticed that smoking
 marijuana seemed to improve my vision. After I smoked
 marijuana my blurred vision came into sharp focus and
 my night vision improved.
 Affidavit of Edward Carr_ _ 13. Finally, Jean Barnhart
 testified:
 At first i did not notice any dramatic effects on my
 glaucoma, good or bad. After some practice smoking_ I
 learned how to inhale properly. I discovered that when
 my blurry vision cleared I had smoked enough
 marijuana. As soon as this happened I would stop
 smoking° My vision seemed much better after smoking.
 Affidavit of Jean Barnhart_ _ 9.
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