cannabisnews.com: Feds Slow to Act on the Benefits of Marijuana!





Feds Slow to Act on the Benefits of Marijuana!
Posted by FoM on May 31, 1999 at 08:49:44 PT
Health Minister Should Expedite the Start of Tests
Source: Sudbury Star
For many sufferers of serious illnesses, the treatment can be as difficult an ordeal as the illness itself. Smoking marijuana provides a means to ease the pain and side effects of such treatments as chemotherapy, according to those who advocate the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Federal Health Minister Allan Rock has announced that details of testing trials to determine if anecdotal stories about the medicinal benefits of marijuana are true will be announced in late June. While such trials are necessary, they should have been started before now.When Rock took over the federal health portfolio in 1997 he said he was sympathetic to those suffering from painful disease but he wanted more than just anecdotal evidence.It has taken two years to transform the minister’s sympathy into action. And during those two years, more patients have suffered.AIDS and cancer victims say smoking marijuana helps them cope with nausea caused by chemical and radiation therapies. Others believe smoking the drug can relieve pain associated with multiple sclerosis, as well as prevent epileptic seizures.But smoking marijuana can also result in charges, court appearances and fines for these patients -- hardly a compassionate way to allow people to recover from their illness. Patients can apply for exemptions from the Criminal Code, but it is a long, arduous process and legally obtaining the marijuana is nearly impossible.Only two people in Canada can legally grow and use marijuana without being charged. Both cases required lengthy court challenges. Such legal actions should have provided the impetus for the federal health minister to move forward on the issue.With the issue at the forefront of Rock’s agenda, he should expedite the establishment of the trials and a distribution system for the substance, if the trials verify the anecdotal evidence.http://www.thesudburystar.com/ed/edpage.asp
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