I am an Assistant District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, a position I have held since 1985. I am a retired Air Force Captain and JAG Corps prosecutor, a former foot soldier in the war on drugs, and the proud father of a son who will turn 18 this summer. I am also an AIDS patient who credits medical marijuana as an important link to saving my life.

To stimulate my appetite one of my physicians prescribed Marinol, a synthetic derivative of THC, which is one of the main active ingredients of marijuana. I found, however, that I could not tolerate Marinol's harsh and unpredictable side effects--side effects that I tried to endure despite only a marginal improvement in appetite. Not infrequently, a single Marinol capsule would make me feel "stoned" for several hours, such that I was unable to function at a level at which I felt comfortable or competent. Other times the Marinol put me right to sleep. Because I continued to work full-time as an Assistant District Attorney, this was for me an unacceptable state of affairs. I need to be at the top of my game. Marinol deprived me of something I have always valued deeply: a sense of control over my mind and body.

I informed my physicians that I could no longer tolerate the Marinol because of the unacceptable side effects. At that point, two of my doctors suggested that I try marijuana. They explained that in their practices, they had observed that for many AIDS patients, smoking marijuana stimulated appetite better than its synthetic cousin, and did so without many of the deleterious side effects of Marinol.

I found that it took only two or three puffs from a marijuana cigarette for my appetite to return. Moreover, the beneficial effect took place within minutes rather than the hours that I sometimes waited after swallowing a Marinol capsule. Because I only required a small dose to stimulate my appetite, I did not need to get stoned in order to eat. …I remain on my growth hormone therapy and I continue to take 15-20 pills a day as part of my antiviral and vitamin regimens. I also use medical marijuana as needed to stimulate my appetite.

My marijuana use is quite modest. I find that I need to take a couple of puffs only two or three times a week, in the evenings, in order to eat. There are also periods of weeks at a time when the marijuana is unnecessary. I do not smoke before or during business hours. I have not become addicted to marijuana.

I continue to work, as I have for the past 12 years, as a city and county prosecutor. The thought processes and motor skills that I use on the job are not the least impaired by the couple of puffs of cannabis I occasionally take before an evening meal. I am not a danger to myself or others. Perhaps most important, I am not wasting away. I am still contributing to society rather than draining its resources. I am thriving on my own, rather than existing as a burden -- either financially or emotionally -- to my family, friends, or the government.

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