Medical Marijuana Hearings Continue

One-eighth-ounce bags of Blue Dream medical marijuana are shown at The Green Door dispensary in San Francisco. Since California became the first state to legalize the drug for medicinal use, the weed that the federal government puts in the same category as heroin and cocaine has become a major economic force. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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By Daren Sukhram

Story Created: Sep 2, 2009 at 4:59 PM CST

Story Updated: Sep 2, 2009 at 4:59 PM CST

MASON CITY (AP) - The Iowa Pharmacy Board heard from eight speakers at its latest public hearing on medical marijuana, and all
but one of them favored its use.

The hearing Wednesday in Mason City was one of a series being
held as the board seeks information for a possible recommendation
to the Iowa legislature.

Decorah Vietnam veteran Bob Watson said he suffers from traumatic stress disorder, seizures and anxiety attacks. Watson
said marijuana serves as an anti-convulsant and helps him sleep.

Another speaker was 42-year-old Ray Lakers of Des Moines, a multiple sclerosis patient who was jailed for possession of less
than a gram of marijuana in 2005.

But Maedene Sappenfield of Mason City said she has a son-on-law
who has MS and functions well without marijuana, which she regards as a gateway drug.

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