Dr. George Wagoner, a retired obstetrician/gynecologist from Manistee, saw the benefits of medical marijuana close-up. His wife of 51 years, Beverly, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January 2007.  As she was undergoing chemotherapy, she experienced intense nausea, and conventional anti-nausea drugs didn't help much.

"One drug cost $46.20 a pill and didn't help," Dr. Wagoner said. "Another made her hallucinate so she refused to take it."

Wagoner told some friends that he knew marijuana could help, but he didn't know where to get it. A short time later, one gave him some. “She took two puffs and said, 'It's gone. My nausea is gone.’”

Wagoner is angry that he had to break the law to comfort his wife, who died six months after her diagnosis. "It's legal to dispense drugs like morphine and Demerol but it's not legal to dispense marijuana, which has such a beneficial effect for some people who are desperate and in terrible trouble. I think that's outrageous," he said.