By Diane Fallon
Freelance writer who lives in Irvine.

When I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma a few years ago, my primary concern, other than wondering if I'd still be above ground in a year, was how sick I would get from the drugs. While this was something I would not know until the drugs actually flowed through my veins, I did know, without doubt, that I would smoke marijuana, if need be, to combat the bad side effects. Personally, I didn't give a hoot about anyone else's opinion, supreme or otherwise.

The recent ruling by the Supreme Court rejecting the right of patients to grow marijuana was truly astounding, although it should not have been considering how inconsistent this group has been in its decisions. I suspect, however, that most people, sick or not sick, feel exactly as I do - who cares? Who is anyone, whether it is a judge, senator, priest or doctor, to tell us what we can put in our bodies to help deal with sickness? And what kind of person thinks they have the moral authority to do so?

Recently we were all put through the spectacle of the Terri Schiavo case. Pundits lined up on both sides of the issue, but the right, who are, for the most part, the people who wage the war against the medical use of marijuana, kept insisting how inhumane it was for this woman to be starved to death, that she was being tortured and must be suffering terribly. Because Terri could not speak for herself, the assumption that she must be suffering was pure speculation, even though doctors insisted that starvation is a painless death. Even months after her death the ad nauseam campaign continues.

Let's move on to the more common scenario of thousands of Americans writhing in pain on a daily basis. These are living, breathing people who can clearly articulate what they need to ease their suffering. They don't ask anything of anyone, other than to leave them alone. How simple a request is that? Leave them alone. Surely lawmakers and enforcers have better things to do than kick down the doors of sick people. No one kicked down the door as Terri Schiavo was being starved to death in front of the entire world. In fact, the enforcers prevented people, including her own family, from breaking down the doors to save her.

This recent decision speaks volumes about the law as well. Most of us know, or should know, that the majority of laws have nothing to do with what's right or wrong but rather what's politically expedient. A law is only as good as the person who makes it, and if the person who makes it is a jackass, then, ergo, the law is a jackass as well.

Many laws are ridiculous, but the ones regarding how one chooses to use their own body are self-serving. A government that gives its seal of approval to euthanasia but outlaws the medicinal use of a drug that is grown by Mother Nature (aka God) has no moral authority.

The laws regarding marijuana were made by scared little men and women, whose concern was that someone, somewhere, at sometime was actually enjoying themselves. Horror of all horrors! But that is another column for another day. Unfortunately, these same people continue to rule the day while their fellow Americans thumb their noses in disgust.

Just as Dorothy found out that the Great Oz was just a scared man afraid of even a little dog, so too do we as a nation of individuals need to view our courts and government. They are mere mortals who are also afraid of the bogeyman, and in this case the bogeyman has a name - marijuana. Let's pull back the curtain and expose their fear and fraud. Just as Dorothy did, people need to realize that that real power lies within, and nothing scares the bejesus out of the Great Oz more than that.

Living with a potentially life-threatening illness is really not so bad. I'm in complete charge of my health and I know that there are people who are a lot sicker than me. Take those six on the Supreme Court, for example. Please.