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mildly addicted to Valium.  Although it helped mask his spasms, it made 
Branstetter more withdrawn and less able to take care of himself.  He 
stopped taking Valium for fear of the consequences of long-term 
addiction.  His spasms then became uncontrollable, often becoming so bad 
they would throw him from his wheelchair.
         34.  In about 1973 Branstetter began smoking marijuana 
recreationally.  He discovered that his severe spasms stopped whenever he 
smoked marijuana.
                                 - 49 -
Unlike Valium, which only masked his symptoms and caused him to feel 
drunk and out of control, marijuana brought his spasmodic condition under 
control without impairing his faculties.  When he was smoking marijuana 
regularly he was more active, alert and outgoing.
         35.  Marijuana controlled his spasms so well that Branstetter 
could go out with friends and he began to play billiards again.  The 
longer he smoked marijuana the more he was able to use his arms and 
hands.  Marijuana also improved his bladder control and bowel movements.
         36.  At times the illegal marijuana Branstetter was smoking 
became very expensive and sometimes was unavailable.  During periods when 
he did not have marijuana his spasms would return, preventing Branstetter 
from living a "normal" life.  He would begin to shake uncontrollably, his 
body would feel tense, and his muscles would spasm.
         37.  In 1979 Branstetter was arrested and convicted of 
possession of marijuana.  He was placed on probation for two years.  
During that period he continued smoking marijuana and truthfully reported 
this, and the reason for it, to his probation officer whenever asked 
about it.  No action was taken against Branstetter by the court or 
probation authorities because of his continuing use of marijuana, except 
once in the wake of his publicly testifying about it before the Missouri 
legislature.  Then, although adverse action was threatened by the judge, 
nothing was actually done.
         38.  In 1981 Branstetter and a friend, a paraplegic, 
participated in a research study testing the therapeutic effects of 
synthetic THC on spasticity.  Placed on the THC Branstetter found that it 
did help control his spasms but appeared to became less effective with 
repeated use.  Also, unlike marijuana,
                                 - 50 -
synthetic THC had a powerful mind-altering effect he found annoying.  
When the study ended the researcher strongly suggested that Branstetter 
continue smoking marijuana to control his spasms.
         39.  None of Branstetter's doctors have told him to stop smoking 
marijuana while several, directly and indirectly, have encouraged him to 
continue.  Branstetter knows of almost 20 other patients, paraplegics, 
quadriplegics and multiple sclerosis sufferers, who smoke marijuana to 
control their spasticity.
         40.  In 1981 a State of Washington Superior Court judge, sitting 
without a jury, found Samuel D. Diana not guilty of the charge of 
unlawful possession of marijuana.  In so doing the judge upheld Diana's 
defense of medical necessity.  Diana had been a multiple sclerosis 
patient since at least 1973.  He testified that smoking marijuana 
relieved his symptoms of double vision, tremors, unsteady walk, impaired 
hearing, tendency to vomit in the mornings and stiffness in the joints of 
his hands and legs.
         41.  Among the witnesses was a physician who had examined 
defendant Diana before and after he had used marijuana.  This doctor 
testified that marijuana had been effective therapeutically for Diana, 
that other medication had proven ineffective for Diana and that, while 
marijuana may have some detrimental effects, Diana would receive more 
benefit than harm from smoking it.  The doctor was not aware of any other 
drug that would be as effective as marijuana for Mr. Diana.  Other 
witnesses included three persons afflicted with multiple sclerosis who 
testified in detail as to marijuana's beneficial effect on their illness.
         42.  In acquitting defendant Diana of unlawful possession of 
marijuana the trial judge found that the three requirements for the 
defense of medical necessity had been established, namely: defendant's 
reasonable belief that his
                                 - 51 -
use of marijuana was necessary to minimize the effects of multiple 
sclerosis; the benefits derived from its use are greater than the harm 
sought to be prevented by the controlled substances law; and no drug is 
as effective as marijuana in minimizing the effects of the disease in the 
defendant.
         43.  Denis Petro, M.D., is a neurologist of broad experience, 
ranging from active practice in neurology to teaching the subject in 
medical school and employment by FDA as a medical officer reviewing IND's 
and NDA's.  He has also been employed by pharmaceutical companies and has 
served as a consultant to the State of New York.  He is well acquainted 
with the case histories of three patients who have successfully utilized 
marijuana to control severe spasticity when other, FDA-approved drugs 
failed to do so.  Dr. Petro knows of other cases of patients who, he 
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