cannabisnews.com: We Must Stop the War on Medical Marijuana We Must Stop the War on Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on June 05, 2002 at 11:57:42 PT By Andrew Weil, Special To The Arizona Star Source: Arizona Daily Star On Thursday, in dozens of cities and towns across the United States, something remarkable will happen: Thousands of people battling cancer, AIDS and other terrible illnesses, their families, friends and supporters will deliver "cease and desist" orders to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to stop it from blocking their access to a needed medication. Their request is so simple and so obviously correct that it is heartbreaking that people - many very seriously ill - will be forced to deliver their message this way, with many risking arrest. But as individuals who have found that medical marijuana relieves their symptoms when conventional medicines fail, they feel they have no choice: The federal government continues to fight an irrational war against medical marijuana, and the sick and struggling are its principal victims. Make no mistake: The government's demonization of marijuana is irrational. When I first published a study in the journal Science on marijuana's physical and psychological effects back in 1968, I was certain that medical use of the plant would be legal within five years. This is, after all, a medicinal plant for which no fatal dose has ever been established and that has been used in folk medicine for millennia. Like all medicines, marijuana has its drawbacks, particularly in smoked form. It is not a panacea. I support research into safer delivery systems, such as low-temperature vaporizers or inhalers, which offer the fast action of inhaled medicine without the irritants found in smoke. Still, I have seen in my own studies that marijuana is less toxic than most pharmaceutical drugs in current use and is certainly helpful for some patients, including those with wasting syndromes, chronic muscle spasticity and intractable nausea. Unfortunately, the only legal substitute available now - a prescription pill containing a synthetic THC, marijuana's main psychoactive component - is not good enough for many patients. I hear regularly from patients that the pill does not work as well as the natural herb and causes much greater intoxication. I am far from alone in this view. The Institute of Medicine, in a report commissioned by the White House "drug czar," concluded in 1999 that there is convincing evidence of marijuana's value in relieving nausea, weight loss and other symptoms caused by diseases such as AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis, as well as by the harsh drugs often used to treat these conditions. The institute concluded that, for some patients, the potential benefits clearly outweigh the risks, and that ways should be found to make marijuana available to them. As a physician, I am frustrated that I cannot prescribe marijuana for patients who might benefit from it. At the very least, I would like to be able to refer them to a safe, reliable, quality-controlled source. But both the Clinton and Bush administrations have pursued a policy that the New England Journal of Medicine has called "misguided, heavy-handed and inhumane." They have declined to act on the institute's recommendation and have conducted a series of raids on medical marijuana cooperatives operating legally under California law, depriving patients of precisely the sort of safe, secure source of medicine they need. Sick people are forced to turn to street sources or simply suffer without relief. So it comes to this: Desperately ill people, their friends, families and loved ones will stand outside DEA offices, pleading with their government not to deprive them of medicine that relieves their suffering. It should never have been necessary, and one can only hope that the administration and Congress will listen. * Andrew Weil is director of the Program in Integrative Medicine of the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona. He has written seven books, including the best-seller, "Eight Weeks to Optimum Health." Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ)Author: Andrew Weil, Special To The Arizona Star Published: Wednesday, 5 June 2002Copyright: 2002 Pulitzer Publishing Co.Contact: letters azstarnet.comWebsite: http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/Related Articles & Web Sites:Dr. Andrew Weilhttp://www.drweil.com/Americans for Safe Accesshttp://safeaccessnow.org Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmFed Records Show Focus on Pot Clubs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13046.shtmlPatients Push Back After DEA Raids in Santa Rosa http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13016.shtmlMedical Marijuana Wars Heat Up http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12932.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by schmeff on June 05, 2002 at 15:22:53 PT Paradigm CONTEMPT DEA GOD LAW MANThe DEA. Above Man. Above the Law. Above God. Beneath contempt. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by schmeff on June 05, 2002 at 13:47:59 PT Employment Opportunities HELP WANTEDAre you a pervert? Piss taster? Fed up with the democratic process and the Rule of Law? Do words like 'liberty' and 'pursuit of happiness' stick in your craw? Wanna kick some terminally-ill patient's ass? You might be just the kind of person the DEA is looking for!Not merely content with screwing the Constitution while in office, Dick's Enduring Atrocity was established by Nixon in 1973. As a Democracy-Extermination Agent, you can put your talents to work terrorizing Americans here at home, or subverting liberty and self-determination in 56 countries worldwide! If the words Unreasonable, Arbitrary and Capricious describe you, then you know it's better to be a guard than an inmate. If you want to work for an Asa and carry a gun, Today's DEA is for you!Today's DEADictating Everyone's Agenda * * * Just a reminder to let your voices be heard and your presence known at a DEA protest near you tomorrow. Be there or be square. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 05, 2002 at 13:04:36 PT News Brief About Marvin Chavez Activist's Marijuana Conviction Upheld June 5, 2002 The Orange County Register The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana last week upheld the 1998 conviction of medicinal-marijuana activist Marvin Chavez. Chavez, 48, of Santa Ana, was convicted of furnishing marijuana to officers who claimed a medical need. He got a six-year prison sentence, but was released pending appeal. Chavez could now be returned to prison. The court rejected arguments of prosecutorial misconduct and that Chavez's conduct was permitted by Proposition 215. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by p4me on June 05, 2002 at 12:34:41 PT GW's marijuana spray On the subject of marijuana medicine: Cannabis Culture did an article about the spray version of MMJ expected to be approved in 2004. The article appeared on May 22. http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2434.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo MD on June 05, 2002 at 12:25:47 PT: Clarification Digit, GW Pharmaceuticals is using a whole cannabis extract, not a single ingredient. That is why they are getting positive results, whereas Marinol almost universally disappoints. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Digit on June 05, 2002 at 12:22:42 PT: time passes quickly when u r not in pain or prison Good luck to all those in the states going out to make a stand against oppression (and just trying to stay alive).andAs a medical user of cannabis I'd just like to stress my utter disgust "humanity" (or certain scientific practices e.g. GW PharmASSuticals) and their absurd belief that they can recreate Natures FINEST example of animal/plant co-existence by "Replicating" ONLY ONE of the dozens and dozens of ingredients found in cannabis then shoving it in a pill, expecting a magical "One does fits all" senario to occur.Just how simple minded are these dudes ?Digitps, if u r religious -(i'm not and have no god)- please pray at every chance u can, for an end to the threat of Nuclear War between Pakistan and India. - sorry for non cannabis related subject matter. i think this is a link to CND [ Post Comment ] Post Comment