cannabisnews.com: Going To Pot





Going To Pot
Posted by CN Staff on December 02, 2004 at 09:54:18 PT
Editorial
Source: Robesonian
It's a debate not even worthy of taking place, but the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing it anyway.At issue is whether patients who have been prescribed the use of marijuana for medicinal reasons - typically to relieve pain and nausea associated with the treatment of cancer - can be prosecuted federally for using the drug. Since 1996, 11 states have passed laws allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana.
(Doctors, of course, prescribe much stronger narcotics routinely.)Anyone who opposes the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes should have to hear Angel Raich's story. Raich, a mother of two who lives in Oakland, Calif., has suffered from a brain tumor since 1989. She tried dozens of prescription medicines to ease the pain without success, and some caused debilitating side effects.Then she was prescribed marijuana, which she smokes frequently. It has eased the pain and helped her regain an appetite that had been lost to chemotherapy. She looks remarkably healthy for a woman who is so ill.She and another California woman, Diane Monson, filed a lawsuit against the federal government to protect their access to the drug after federal agents confiscated marijuana plants from Monson's yard.California's law allows people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation. Other states with such laws are: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.There are valid arguments against allowing marijuana, primarily the worry that the law will be exploited by people who will use the drug recreationally. Also, there is an enforcement issue. A recreational user could tell the arresting officer he had a migraine that just wouldn't go away.But these concerns are easily set aside for a drug such as marijuana, whose use has been decriminalized as society finally figured out that it isn't the "gateway drug" or threat that the government's propaganda campaigns portrayed it as in the 1960s.If 99 people use a doctor to illegally obtain marijuana for recreational purposes, and a 100th person is able to use the drug to relieve chronic and debilitating pain, then the good has easily outweighed the bad.Source: Robesonian, The (Lumberton, NC)Published: Thursday, December 02, 2004 Copyright: 2004 The RobesonianContact: ddouglas cnhi.comWebsite: http://www.robesonian.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Angel Raich v. Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htmTesting The Limits of Big Governmenthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19949.shtmlSupreme Court Hears Oral Argument on MMJhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19948.shtmlMedical Marijuana A States Choicehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19947.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by sam adams on December 02, 2004 at 10:00:34 PT
60's?
"But these concerns are easily set aside for a drug such as marijuana, whose use has been decriminalized as society finally figured out that it isn't the "gateway drug" or threat that the government's propaganda campaigns portrayed it as in the 1960s."What cave have you been living in, pal? Federal and state government are not only still touting the Gateway theory, but the feds have also announced that MJ is now the most dangerous drug facing our society, and have directed more resources to MJ from cocaine and heroin.Also, the feds are arresting 5-10 times as many people now for MJ as they did in the 60s, and the America has 5 times as many prisoners as we did in the 60s. Wake up!
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