A Remembrance of Bob Randall By Alice O’Leary(continued from page 2)

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In that Spring, a marijuana seed sprouted in an abandoned flowerpot on our sundeck. Having survived the winter, it burst forth in the warm sunlight and we took pity on it, fed it well and watched it grow. We added three more seeds to this “volunteer” and soon four plants were thriving. We looked upon them as insurance for when the regular, illicit supplies of marijuana would dry up. We weren’t worried; it was 1975, no one got busted for marijuana anymore.


Bob Randall w/ Marijuana Plants

“Procuring marijuana became a regular part of our life and trying to cover the dry spells became particularly important.. This uninvited “volunteer” plant was the obvious solution to my problem—grow enough marijuana to cover the dry spells.”

Bob Randall


Sundeck where Randall grew marijuana

But we were busted through a fateful series of events that culminated on an August afternoon when we returned from vacation found a ransacked home, a search warrant on the kitchen table, and a request from the D.C. police to turn ourselves in.


Search Warrant from the Vice Squad for Nine (9) Cannabis Plants
Read Text of Search Warrant


Arrest Warrant for Robert C. Randall
Read Text of Arrest Warrant

Bob was furious that the police had “stolen” his medication and immediately began looking for help to prove his medical need for the illegal drug. Like hundreds of busted pot smokers he began with NORML, which was then headquartered on M St. NW in Washington. He was ushered in to meet Keith Stroup, founder and executive director. Keith listened to Bob’s story, rummaged through the pile of papers on his desk and pulled out a slim file labeled “medical use”. He invited Bob to make copies of the contents and gave him a few phone numbers of people in the federal government who might have some information.


Keith Stroup w/Jane Silver and Vera Rubin, 1976

One of those contacts happily mailed us the most recent copy of Marijuana & Health: Report to Congress. A small section was entitled “Therapeutic Aspects.” It gave an overview of the history of medical use and provided a list of ongoing investigations into marijuana’s medical utility. The very first noted was “Intraocular Pressure” and it revealed that in 1971 – four years prior – Dr. Robert Hepler had reported a drop in the IOP of normal subjects in a marijuana study at UCLA. The report further noted, “Hepler has started a program for treating patients with ocular hypertension or glaucoma, particularly those whose IOP is not reduced with conventional medications.


NIDA: Marijuana Research Findings 1976


NIDA Reports THC Lowers
Intraocular Pressure
Read Text Here

This report was a revelation to Bob. He had been unaware that anyone else might know about marijuana’s use in the treatment of glaucoma. Learning that the entire federal government was aware AND funding research while D.C. cops were busting us for possession was too much.

“I was stunned. There it was, in hard, unyielding black and white, printed under the stamp of the Department for Health, Education, and Welfare. Delivered, by law, to Congress!”

Marijuana Rx, page 19

It would have been oh so simple to pay the fine for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and move on with our lives. But the information from the government not only corroborated Bob’s thinking it gave him a possible ally, a means to prove his claim that marijuana helped.

Over the next few months Bob contacted every researcher in the country who had even the remotest involvement with research on marijuana and elevated eye pressures. Bob spent ten days in California under the care of the previously noted Dr. Hepler. The tests at UCLA were exhaustingly thorough. Hepler first tested every conceivable regimen of conventional glaucoma medications but could not reduce Bob’s intraocular eye pressures to a normal range. He then added oral THC to the regimen with no success. Only after these tests did Hepler give Bob inhaled marijuana. The results were, of course, positive. Bob had a consistent, dose-related response to inhaled marijuana. And Hepler demonstrated that therapeutic response was additive. Without the marijuana no combination of existing drugs could effectively lower the IOP.

Bob returned from California feeling jubilant and victorious. Our lawyer, upon reading the letter which Dr. Hepler sent to Bob confirming the importance of marijuana for the maintenance of his sight, looked at Bob and declared, “This is history!”

In that meeting, just 16 days into the Bicentennial year of 1976, the seed of the next 20 years was sown. The lawyer and his young associate were nearly delirious with the prospects that Hepler’s research conclusions offered, especially so when Bob declared that we wanted to “sue someone. Without a guarantee of legal access,” he said, “nothing is gained. I need a non criminal supply at a reasonable price.”

This unleashed an even greater torrent of legalese between the lawyer and associate. Peppered in the Latin legal terms were familiar words like, “publicity,” “history,” and “great case.” It was a heady moment for all involved.

Continued on Page 4