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 checked the man's lOP, which was highly elevated, provided him
 with some marijuana to smoke, and then checked his lOP responses
 It was clear, based on his lOP response -- a
 significant decline in ocular tensions --
 that marijuana could provide this young man
 with better control over his IOPo However_
 he did not live in Washington, D_C. : _
 :_ Nor could I prescribe marijuana to hlm or
 -- treat him . o . over long distances ....
 As a result, this young man left my office to
 hitchhike back to Detroit° He knew -- and I
 knew _o that marijuana might help to prolong
 his sight. But I could not legally prescribe
 D the dz_g to him. Unableto obtain legal
 access to marijuana, this yo_Lng man -- if he
 was smart -- bought some marijuana off the
 street as soon as he got home. The choice
 between breaking the law or retaining your
 sight is difficult, but it cex_ainly would be
 underst_$_ble if he opted to preserve his
 vision_ _
 As Merritt states, _This situation was not unique. "9-Q-_/
 Finally, the classic example of the amount of per-
 :_ ......
 sistence necessary to secure licit access to marijuana is
 exemplified by the case of Robert Randall. He gained access to
 legal marijuana only after being arrested for marijuana culti _
 ..... :
 ration, part±cipation in numerous research programs, undergoing a
 _Q7/ I_® at _ 24=29.
 _/ _. at _ 30. Another glaucoma patients Jim R., a retired
 ::::_ Arizona cowboy suffering from advanced glaucoma e had failed to
 gain benefit from conventional medications and a number of
 surgical procedures. After his wife, Mildred, saw Robert Randall
 on a television game shows they obtained an illicit supply of
 marijuana. Jim tried smoking marijuana and felt it helped his
 glaucoma. Jim and Mildred_ with the help of a local physician,
 -:_ conducted some in-office tests and found marijuana significantly
 reduced Jim's IOP. After considerable effort, Jim R. gained
 licit access to marijuana_ but then his doctor moved away. When
 the legal marijuana ran outs Jim and his wife (both in their
 sixties) were forced to obtain marijuana from illicit sources in
 an effort to maintain Jim's therapy. Affidavit of Alice
 O'Leary_ _ 148_i63.
 I
 .. : O.:i O




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