cannabisnews.com: I-148 Offers Compassionate Exemption 





I-148 Offers Compassionate Exemption 
Posted by CN Staff on October 29, 2004 at 09:00:36 PT
Gazette Opinion
Source: Billings Gazette
The war on drugs was never intended to target people like Teresa Michalski. This Helena woman acknowledges that she allowed her adult son, who was dying of cancer, to smoke marijuana in her home. Marijuana eased the severe nausea of his chemotherapy and helped calm his anxiety over knowing he would not see his young son grow up. But all the while, his mother worried that her son could be arrested or that they could lose their home because marijuana is illegal.
Michalski has been an outspoken supporter of Initiative 148, a proposal to allow limited use of medical marijuana in Montana. In the past few months, we've heard from other Montanans who see I-148 as a compassionate law that would allow seriously ill and dying patients the option of using marijuana. Doctors as Gatekeepers The initiative says that an ounce of marijuana could be possessed legally by a person who meets these criteria: has "a debilitating medical condition," receives a Montana medical doctor's permission to use marijuana and obtains a medical marijuana registration card from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Only a minority of people suffering "debilitating medical conditions" as defined by the initiative would qualify for medical marijuana. Among AIDS patients, for example, the majority don't experience treatment side effects of nausea and loss of appetite and some who do can have those symptoms managed with other medications available by legal prescription. Before the state could issue a medical marijuana card, a licensed MD, would have to sign a statement saying that "the potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks for the qualifying patient." Weighing Risks, Benefits Marijuana does present health risks. It can be addictive and marijuana smoke contains carcinogens. Marijuana is no more appropriate for the general population than chemotherapy or antiviral AIDS drugs are appropriate for healthy people. Marijuana should remain a controlled substance. Its use should remain illegal - with the tightly limited exception of a severely or chronically ill patient whose own medical doctor agrees potential benefits of marijuana outweigh its risks in that particular case. Some opponents of medical marijuana argue that it's unnecessary because an active ingredient has been synthesized in a prescription pill called Marinol. Marinol can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,300 a month, depending on the dosage. Some medical research indicates that inhaling marijuana chemicals is more effective than swallowing them in a pill. What's really needed is more research nationally on the medicinal uses of marijuana. All cancer patients and other people suffering from life-threatening diseases or the severe side effects of medical treatment deserve good options for safely and effectively managing their pain. Meanwhile, I-148 is a compassionate stopgap. It offers a relatively small group of seriously ill or dying patients another option to ease their suffering. Newshawk: MayanSource: Billings Gazette, The (MT)Published: October 29, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Billings GazetteContact: speakup billingsgazette.comWebsite: http://www.billingsgazette.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Montana Careshttp://montanacares.org/ I-148 Blowing Smoke, Vote No on Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19733.shtmlMedical Marijuana Debate a Smoking Issuehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19718.shtmlMarijuana Should Be in The Toolboxhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19664.shtmlTheir Lips are Movinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19643.shtml
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