cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Could be Relief for Pain Medical Marijuana Could be Relief for Pain Posted by FoM on January 07, 2002 at 08:04:09 PT By Tim O'Brien Source: Detroit Free Press Detroit residents soon will have the opportunity to amend the city charter to make possession of marijuana for medical use the city's lowest law enforcement priority, and eliminate funding for such prosecutions from the city budget. August 2002 will be the first time in nearly a century that any Michigan citizens have had an opportunity to vote directly on a question relating to substance prohibition. It's about time. The notion that the mere possession of plants and their by-products can be effectively proscribed is ill-conceived. As best-selling author Peter McWilliams pithily observed: "Alcohol prohibition was called the 'Noble Experiment' -- you wouldn't think an experiment with such clear-cut results would need to be repeated." Although the prohibition of heroin and cocaine is equally futile, the inherent danger of those drugs at least provides some rationale for the effort. That justification cannot be made with marijuana. According to the special report of the 1972 National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, marijuana hadn't caused a single fatality in the United States. Nor has any been reported since. Meanwhile, the potential medicinal value of marijuana, especially as an anti-nausea agent for chemotherapy patients, has been recognized by mainstream medical institutions such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the California Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Institute of Medicine. Opponents argue that synthetic substitutes can provide the same benefits. But attempting to treat nausea with medication in pill form can be a Catch-22. Many such patients can't keep the pills down long enough to realize the therapeutic benefit. Plus it's expensive. Marinol, the only FDA approved synthetic, costs $17.25 per 10-milligram dose. Those with chronic conditions such as AIDS will typically require three doses per day. This would mean a cost of more than $1,500 a month -- in a city where one-quarter of the population has no health insurance. The active ingredient in marijuana has also proven efficacious in the treatment of some chronic illnesses such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis, and patients with these afflictions might likewise benefit from the new law. Some opponents have attacked the proposal because it does not list the diseases and symptoms for which medical marijuana may be used. Advocates say, however, that's one of the proposal's strengths, believing that such decisions should be left to individual doctors and their patients. "We are in no better a position to make case-by-case diagnoses than is John Ashcroft," said organizer Tim Beck, referring to the U.S. Attorney General who recently invoked federal authority to raid so-called medical marijuana "Buyer's Clubs" after they were legalized by California voters under state law. A city charter amendment cannot affect state or federal marijuana prohibitions. But if those higher branches of government chose to zealously enforce the marijuana laws themselves, it would require a reallocation of their resources since responsibility for the prosecution of routine marijuana possession cases has always fallen to local law enforcement. Although politicians have stubbornly resisted every proposal to make drug laws less draconian, voters have proven to be more tolerant. Medical exceptions to marijuana prohibition have already appeared in one form or another on ballots in eight states and the District of Columbia. All nine have passed. In fact, Michigan voters may well be ready to declare a more general cease-fire in the War on Drugs. A California-based group called the Campaign for New Drug Policies has already begun circulating a petition proposing to amend the Michigan Constitution to require medical treatment rather than incarceration for all first and second offense substance possession charges, regardless of the substance involved. If that petition drive is also successful, the statewide proposal would be on the November general election ballot. We might just be seeing the beginning of the end of the second "Noble Experiment." Maybe this time we'll actually accept the results and never again put ourselves through this quixotic quest to save people from the consequences of their own vices -- while in the process denying medicine to people who desperately need it.Tim O'Brien of Allen Park is an advertising and media consultant, who recently volunteered his time to the Detroit Coalition for Compassionate Care. Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St., Detroit, MI 48226. Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Could be Relief for Pain and Finances in Detroit Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)Author: Tim O'BrienPublished: January 7, 2002Copyright: 2002 Detroit Free PressContact: letters freepress.comWebsite: http://www.freep.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Campaign for New Drug Policies http://www.drugreform.orgMedical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmDrug-Law Fight Launchedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11664.shtmlBattle Begins Over Proposal To Change Drug Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11572.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by greenfox on January 07, 2002 at 08:24:46 PT Relief for pain? no it can't!!! How could it possibly be used for pain? The DEA says... What the DEA thinks about so called "medical marijuana" [ Post Comment ] Post Comment