DRUG WARS US Sailing bans sailor for medical marijuana BY JESSICA RICCI

Competitive sailor Irvin Rosenfeld has been using medical grade marijuana for 20 years to treat multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, a disease that causes bone tumors to grow on most of the long bones of his body.

The 52-year-old Florida stockbroker, who joined a federal program called Compassionate Care Investigational New Drug in 1982, says the 10 to 12 marijuana cigarettes he gets each day from Uncle Sam offer the only relief for his excruciating chronic pain. He is one of six current participants in the program.

Rosenfeld, who has taken part in three races organized by the Portsmouth-based United States Sailing Association (USSA), wants to sail in the association’s 2006 North American Challenge Cup for the disabled next summer. The USSA, however, says Rosenfeld needs an exemption from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to use marijuana while competing, and the USADA, which considers marijuana a banned substance, denied his request.

Rosenfeld believes that both US Sailing and the USADA are discriminating against him because marijuana is his medicine. He says that most of the people in the event are on banned substances, such as steroids, and that he is being singled out. "The irony is the US Sailing wants as many people as possible to have the pleasure of sailing," he says, "but they are discriminating against the disabled in a race for the disabled because I use a medicine they don’t understand."

US Sailing says it is bound by the rules of the Anti-Doping Agency. Marlieke Eaton, a US Sailing spokeswoman, says the rules remain the same even if a federal program regulates Rosenfeld’s marijuana. "There are standard procedures that everyone must follow to make it fair for every competitor," she says. "He [Rosenfeld] is not being discriminated against." Eaton says she was not aware of the use of banned substances by other disabled sailors. (The USADA declined to comment on Rosenfeld’s case.)

Rosenfeld says marijuana does not enhance his performance; his health, which is closely monitored, has not suffered as a result of using it; and he says he does not get high from the drug, apparently because of the functioning of the cannabinoid receptors in his brain.

As he appeals to the USADA for an exemption, he rallies ahead with advocacy, having spoken to the Rhode Island Senate, for example, as it was contemplating legalizing medical marijuana. "The government has done a good job brainwashing the American public," Rosenfeld says. "[But] I can’t just shut up — that’s why I was in Rhode Island. Doctors told me at the age of 10 I wouldn’t be around very long. God’s kept me around for a reason."