cannabisnews.com: Defending The Medical Use of Marijuana





Defending The Medical Use of Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on March 08, 2004 at 08:32:55 PT
Letters to the Editor
Source: Chicago Tribune 
Portland, Ore. -- This is regarding "Marijuana is not medicine" (Commentary, Feb. 17), by Andrea Barthwell, a deputy director at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and a past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. I am secretary of Oregon NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and the chair of the 2003 Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards, which Barthwell attacked in her opinion piece. Barthwell characterizes the event as "the town chili cook-off."
This event, the only one of its kind in the United States, is open only to patients and caregivers registered with the State of Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Anyone may attend the awards--it is a smoke-free event--because all judging has been done in the privacy of the patient/judge's home in the weeks prior to the event. All entrants and judges must prove they are legal under Oregon state law before being allowed to participate.During the day of the awards banquet, there are speakers and discussion groups covering many subjects related to the legal, medicinal use of cannabis (marijuana) in Oregon. There is no public consumption of cannabis allowed at any time by any person.Barthwell complains, "Even children--with a note from a parent, of course--could participate as judges. The very nature of the event exposes medical marijuana opportunists for what they are: people who are looking for the best high, not the best medicine that science has to offer."Oregon law allows a minor to be a registered OMMP patient, with approval of parents or guardians, under medical supervision. Under Oregon law we would be violating the rights of a patient if we discriminated against him or her based solely on age.Event rules required minors to include, with their event application package, written permission from their parents or guardians for participation in the event, and that the parents' or guardians' signatures be notarized. This is far from willy-nilly suborning of children, as Barthwell insinuates.The position of Oregon NORML regarding drugs (including caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and over-the-counter medications) and children is simple: Children and drugs should mix only under the care of a physician. Remember there are many things in life that are OK for responsible adults that are not OK for children--getting married, signing contracts, smoking, consuming alcohol, watching X-rated movies, driving, and on and on.Barthwell incorrectly characterizes the reason for the awards. We are not "looking for the best high," as she claims. We are primarily interested in determining which strains of cannabis are most effective for various medical conditions or symptoms, thus enabling patients to grow the proper strains for their needs without wasting time (four to six months), money and energy growing a strain that does not help them.Some other reasons for the awards include the educating of the public attending (patients and non-patients alike), giving the opportunity for social companionship and networking for patients and caregivers, and giving recognition to caregivers for helping patients.Barthwell mocks the use of medical cannabis, disregarding studies and reports documenting the medical usefulness of cannabis.Steven M. CooperPublished March 8, 2004 Addiction Expert Elmwood Park -- This is regarding "Medical marijuana and its witless enemies; Anti-drug advocates continue to ignore credible science" (Commentary, Feb. 29), which disparaged Andrea Barthwell, deputy director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy.Barthwell (whom I know personally) is a compassionate doctor and should be applauded for her lifelong commitment to addiction medicine. While some may disagree with her conclusions, it is irresponsible to describe this nationally recognized addiction expert as an "anti-drug [advocate continuing] to ignore credible science," as the headline does. Peter J. Panton MDPublished March 8, 2004Prescribing Pot Portland, Ore. -- Thank you for your editorial "Marijuana by prescription only."We in the State of Oregon have a very successful medical marijuana law.But ideally the federal government should reschedule marijuana so that doctors can prescribe it to seriously ill patients.While debating the medical use of marijuana, Americans must ask what to do with patients who benefit from marijuana now but must break the law to use it.We must end the risk of criminal penalties faced by these seriously and terminally ill patients in a sensible, regulated way, brokering a peace of sorts while science continues its investigations.I support efforts in the State of Illinois to produce a compassionate medical marijuana law. Patients should not be arrested for using marijuana as medicine when they and their doctor agree it might help.Richard Bayer, MDPublished March 8, 2004Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)Published: March 8, 2004Copyright: 2004 Chicago Tribune CompanyContact: ctc-TribLetter Tribune.comWebsite: http://www.chicagotribune.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:OMMA http://www.stormyray.org/Oregon NORMLhttp://www.ornorml.org/Medical Marijuana and Its Witless Enemieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18415.shtmlMarijuana By Prescription Only http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18412.shtmlMarijuana is Not Medicinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18366.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by Truth on March 09, 2004 at 07:38:59 PT
you go Max
I don't think calling a worm a worm is anymore name calling then calling a bicyclists a bicyclists.
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Comment #6 posted by Universer on March 08, 2004 at 20:40:49 PT
That would be a brilliant letter, Max, if...
...it weren't for the name-calling.Let the facts stand alone.
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Comment #5 posted by Max Flowers on March 08, 2004 at 15:28:59 PT
A response for Mr. Panton
I say "Mr" instead of "Dr" because I refuse to call a doctor "Doctor" if they show disregard for sick people, which is what this dolt Panton has done. He made me very angry with his clueless comment. I just sent him the following email:-------------------------------------Mr. Panton,This is a response to your retort about Andrea Barthwell. You obviously need your eyes opened on this issue (pun intended).I'll take it point by point. You wrote:- Barthwell (whom I know personally) is a compassionate doctor and should be applauded for her lifelong commitment to addiction medicine. -Perhaps you need to review the meaning of the word compassion. Compassion does not include taking money to spread fear and outright lies about a subject of very serious medical importance, and deliberately standing in the way of progress in getting sick and suffering people what is, in many cases, the only medicine that helps them. This is what Barthwell does. She is a federal government schill paid to ignore, contest and undermine the irrefutable evidence of the efficacy of medical cannabis. She is a paid liar. I don't care how many people she treated in the past or how compassionate she seemed before; right now, she is a paid liar and with her lies and campaign of hate she is hurting thousands upon thousands of sick medical cannabis patients and potential medical cannabis patients. Some if them will DIE because they are afraid to try cannabis---they are afraid to get caught up in the federal government's war on cannabis users. As an eye doctor, I *know* that you know about the effectiveness of cannabis in treating glaucoma. If you try to say you are ignorant of that well-established medical FACT, then you are so out of touch that it's pathetic. If you try to say that you know of it but disagree with its use for that illness, then you are as guilty as Barthwell of violating your Hippocratic oath. Do you remember that one? Let me remind you how it goes. "First, do no harm." To deny sick people the medicine that works for them, for some twisted political reason, is doing them harm. She fails the test and so do you if you agree with her.- While some may disagree with her conclusions, it is irresponsible to describe this nationally recognized addiction expert as an "anti-drug [advocate continuing] to ignore credible science," as the headline does. - That is your misguided and biased opinion. You are wrong. It is responsible and necessary and RIGHT to expose Barthwell for what she is and what she is doing in the name of the federal government's immoral Drug War. She does ignore credible science, hundreds of studies' worth, every day. She is paid to do this, and is under federal instruction to do this. I suspect you are biased to the point of blindness because you know her personally. Well I know personally some very sick people who depend on cannabis as the only medicine that helps them stay alive, and Barthwell is one the key people who make it their daily business to oppress them and perpetuate a policy that seeks to deprive them of this life-saving substance and put them in jail for trying to relieve their pain.I don't care if you are an MD, a PhD, or what title you may sport---if you support Barthwell's efforts, then you are on the side of hurting sick people, of deliberately depriving them of an effective medicine (in many cases, the ONLY effective medicine for them), of trying to shorten their lives, of PUTTING THEM IN JAIL, and that makes you just as callous and evil as she is if you support her. There are no shades of gray in this issue, Mr. Panton---you either believe in helping sick people or you believe in trying to put them in jail and make them die in agony. You may be good at laser eye surgery but you are pathetically blind when it comes to seeing what true compassion is, you ignorant worm. You don't deserve to be called a healer if you believe what she does is right.WAKE UP!!
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on March 08, 2004 at 15:14:24 PT
sukoi
Thank you. I missed it. I have it posted now.
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Comment #3 posted by sukoi on March 08, 2004 at 14:50:30 PT
FoM
I haven't seen this posted and thought that you might like to do so!THE CLASH OVER CANNABIShttp://www.mapinc.org/norml/v04/n396/a08.htm
 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 08, 2004 at 09:44:55 PT
Two More LTE from The Chicago Tribune
War on DrugsGerald M. SutliffPublished March 8, 2004Castro Valley, Calif. -- Kudos for your Feb. 28 editorial "Marijuana by prescription only." It shows good sense and reasonability, both of which have been undervalued for decades in our government's ill-named drug war. Compassion has been non-existent. War is an atrocity; this one's no different.***A Free CountryKirk MusePublished March 8, 2004Mesa, Ariz. -- I'm writing about Michael R. Butz's outstanding letter, "Drug policies" (Voice of the people, Feb. 28).One issue Butz didn't cover is the right of a free country's government to dictate which substances adult citizens may or may not consume, even in the privacy of one's own home. If our government can dictate which (politically selected) recreational drugs we may or may not consume (Viagra is OK, marijuana is not), it can also dictate which foods we may or may not eat, even in the privacy of our own homes.Our government cannot protect adult citizens from themselves and our government has no legitimate right attempting to do so. A free country should be . . . a free country. 
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Comment #1 posted by mamawillie on March 08, 2004 at 08:46:24 PT
baby drinking coffee
I was sitting in a Starbucks (funny thing is I'm not a coffee drinker, but was with a friend and we were chatting and she was drinking a coffee)... and this lady with a 9 or 10 month old baby orders. The baby then dropped his sippy cup, which rolled to our table. My friend has a 1 year old baby, who was also with us. The lady says: "Do you give your child coffee too? My baby just loves coffee in his milk."I'm telling you my face was absolutely stricken. I thought she was joking until the baby started grabbing for her Starubucks coffee! My friend and I just said, "NO"... and I added my kids aren't allowed to have caffeine.She went on and on about how he just loves his morning coffee.People are crazy.
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