European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 8, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Mitred Kaitz is angry that marijuana can t be used legally to stimulate the appetite of her ailing son. Not a. A a. V a. A a marijuana medication and a busted Mommy Joseph Berger the new York times he annals of crime do not record Many 79-year-old grandmothers who have been arrested for growing marijuana in their Back. Yards. And one who has been Mildred Kaitz of Monticello n.y., has an explanation that she thinks makes her offence pardonable. She did it for her son Barton who lives in Brooklyn and who at 49, has been suffering from multiple sclerosis a chronic disease of the nervous system that has progressively crippled his legs blurred his vision and deadened his appetite. Smoking marijuana she discovered made him eat with gusto so she did what she says any Loving Mother would do in similar circumstances grow the marijuana for him. Quot the police said to me what if your son needed an operation would you Rob a Bank Quot Kaitz recalled. Quot i said if it would cure his sickness i would absolutely. I d go to jail for life Quot a judge in the catskills resort Village of Monticello where Kaitz has lived for two decades has placed her on probation for six months. He warned her to keep out of trouble if she wants the marijuana Possession conviction erased from what had been an unblemished lifelong record. But keeping out of trouble is not the same As keeping , december 8,1993 she is angry that Federal authorities Are refusing to let More people legally receive marijuana As Medicine and although she usually responds to life s troubles with a shrugging irony she has made her views known on local Rock stations. Groups like the National organization for the Reform of marijuana Laws have seized on her Case to argue for allowing the sick to use marijuana. Only nine americans a with such ailments As cancer glaucoma and aids a Are legally entitled to receive marijuana grown by the Federal government at the University of Mississippi. The number has been Frozen since last year when a review by the drug enforcement administration concluded that marijuana has fio medicinal Potency. Supporters of reclassifying marijuana As a controlled substance with medicinal purposes like morphine argue that marijuana relieves nausea and stimulates appetite in cancer and aids patients and relieves pressure in the eyes of glaucoma sufferers. In 1991, Harvard University researchers found that almost half of the 1,035 cancer specialists who returned a questionnaire said they would prescribe marijuana if it were Legal and a slightly smaller percentage said they had already recommended marijuana to patients. A still robust woman whose eyes twinkle behind Sophia Loren like the stars and stripes glasses Kaitz insists she never smoked pot though she remembers tasting a doctored Brownie once. Quot it had no effect on me whatsoever Quot she said. But she is not a conventionally staid grandmother either. A there has always been something of the Bohemian in her Mother s heart says her daughter Revalee prody a former police officer. For 53 years Kaitz an Art shop owner and Antiques collector was married to an Art Deco artist who painted idolized nudes in scenes drawn from mythology. The two of them accompanied their children to the fabled Woodstock concert of 1969, and once had their grandchildren blessed with a Feather by the swamp Mukta Nanda. Kaitz s son told her about two years ago that marijuana which he says he smokes no More than a six times a year stimulated his appetite. She decided to help get him some and with the Aid of a More Street smart Friend bought $50 Worth. To her disappointment what she got was no bigger than a packet of  said my cod $50 i la grow it for my son Quot she said. So she did openly. Younger friends gave her three 10-Inch sprouts and she planted them alongside the Back Entrance Steps to her  there they remained until August when two Village police officers acting on a tip from local youngsters went to her House yanked out the plants and arrested her. Short subject roller binding with a hitch a risky ride by Douglas Martin the new York times Tom Rooney an investment banker for Prudential securities was Riding in a limousine Uptown on new York s third Avenue heading for cocktails at an Uptown bar. A companion tapped his knee and said Quot i think there a someone at the door for  he rolled the window Down and made the acquaintance of one Roberto Parent whose curly Brown hair rippled in the wind As the car cruised along at More than 40 Mph. Quot Gonsoir ladies and gentlemen Quot he said. Quot How Are All of you this evening Quot Parent 26, was pursuing his Peculiar perilous passion a High Speed roller blading a sport he accomplishes by grabbing hold of the cars of Complete strangers. He claims to have gone As fast As 72 Mph and to have travelled As Many As 500 streets in a Day. Quot its like a natural High you feel free As a Bird Quot the masseur and former infantryman inthe Canadian army said. Quot All your senses Are aware like a  from the perspective of the beleaguered Manhattan Motorist Parent is More like a giant Leech holding on for dear life a but leeches done task you to change radio stations to something More happening. Some Drivers try to Brake to shake him off some shake their fists in exasperation some smile and give him a smooth ride. Quot sometimes they try to kill us and sometimes they Are really Nice Quot he said. Police officials say there Are no statistics on roller riders but bicyclists particularly messengers have Long done this. But High Speed roller Blade riders Are something new. The seen it but Only in Manhattan Quot said police detective Joseph Mcconville who likened it to the old wintertime prank of attaching a sled to a car stopped at a Stop sign. This form of hitchhiking is illegal but its worst aspect is its danger Mcconville said. A they could end up losing their lives Quot he said. Quot its  Parent said he has seen about a dozen roller blazers hitch rides on vehicles but maintains that Only he and two friends All French canadians have made such a serious thing out of it. They developed the technique of leaping pot Bojes a a jump of an Inch or two can Cany them More than 10 feet a that allows them actually to accelerate past cars. By using their arms to fling themselves Forward from a car whose speedometer registers 55 Mph they can exceed 65 Mph Parent estimated. Roller Riding is not for the timid like Bob Hope who once said even his Goose bumps get Goose bumps. Quot you can never think about falling Quot Parent said. Quot fear paralyses there is no time for  a skater on the streets of new York