cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Necessary for Some





Medical Marijuana Necessary for Some
Posted by CN Staff on December 02, 2004 at 11:44:09 PT
By Sanjai Tripathi 
Source: Daily Barometer
Some people claim the plant called Cannabis sativa, also sometimes called Cannabis indica, "marijuana" or just "pot," has medicinal value.Right now the Supreme Court is considering the case of Ashcroft v. Raich regarding this issue. The plaintiff in the case is Angel McClary Raich, a woman with a staggering array of severe illnesses including cancers and chronic spasms who claims to need marijuana therapy to survive.
She has an affidavit from her doctor testifying that she has tried 35 other plausible therapies, and that "she 'may suffer rapid death' if forced to stop using the marijuana she consumes (via pipe, massage oils and quantities of pot-spiked zucchini bread) every two waking hours of the day," according to slate.com.The 39-year-old Mrs. Raich is from Oakland, where California's medical marijuana law allows her to acquire and use pot. She is arguing that the federal government doesn't have the constitutional right to overrule California's law.John Ashcroft, as we know, is the now-former attorney general of the United States. He had agents of the Department of Justice raid the homes of Raich and her co-plaintiffs to seize their plants. He claims government research shows marijuana has no medicinal value, and that the federal government has every right to prohibit marijuana, according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.This is a case where the legally correct decision may in fact be completely immoral and unjust. For students of the law, which really should include everyone in a democracy, these cases are the most important to understand.The relative medicinal value of marijuana has been pretty well demonstrated, despite the paltry amount of study devoted to it. It is very revealing of our health care system that something so physiologically reactive and potentially beneficial is not well studied. The reason for that is because no pharmaceutical company can patent the ancient plant, and thus nobody is devoting big money to prove, by expensive Food and Drug Administration standards of proof, the effectiveness of marijuana therapies.However, the National Institute of Medicine, a division of the National Academy of Sciences, compiled a large report on medicinal marijuana in 1999 titled "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base." By the way, in terms of scientific credibility, the academy is probably the best source of information and opinion.In that report, as quoted from the Raich brief, the authors say in the conclusion, "the accumulated data suggests a variety of indications, particularly for pain relief, antiemesis, and appetite stimulation."For patients such as those who suffer simultaneously from severe pain, nausea and appetite loss, cannabinoid drugs might offer broad-spectrum relief not found in any other single medication."They go on: "There is no clear alternative for people suffering form chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain and AIDS wasting." By the way, Wednesday was World AIDS Day.Pot gives people the munchies, and for patients such as those with AIDS Wasting Syndrome -- who otherwise basically starve to death for lack of appetite -- this helps very much. It can also be "antiemetic," meaning it makes some people, such as those undergoing chemotherapy, not feel like they are going to throw up. It can also reduce spasticity and muscle pain in people with multiple sclerosis. These are all serious conditions, with the benefits of marijuana well demonstrated, and for which often all alternative therapies are ineffective, including the legal synthetic cannabinoid Marinol.Thus, marijuana not only is medicine, it is essential medicine for many people.There are, of course, damaging effects, as well. Smoking marijuana has the same harmful side effects as tobacco, including bronchitis and very probably lung cancer. The carbon monoxide from the smoke reduces a person's blood oxygen level, causing a mild but prolonged hypoxic fatigue. Much of these effects can be eliminated however with the use of a device called a vaporizer, which releases the cannabinoids into the air without burning and smoke release.There is also research to suggest that marijuana, as a cardiac stimulator, can induce heart attacks.Then there is the psychological factor. It has not been demonstrated to cause a pure chemical dependence, like alcohol, but frequent pot use is known to be habit-forming and is correlated with all sorts of psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety.There are other drugs that are more addictive and perfectly legal. Painkillers such as morphine, Percoset, Oxycontin, depressants like Valium and anti-anxiety medications like Xanax are all sold in pharmacies and have important medical applications, but are also at times abused by patients who may or may not need them. That is how marijuana should also be distributed: high-grade strains, grown in well-controlled conditions, prescribed by a doctor and sold in pharmacies.As stated before, however, the case of Ashcroft v. Raich isn't just about pot's medicinal value; it's also about states' rights.In Article I of the Constitution, the framers set out to divide powers between the federal government and the states. Mostly, they set out to enumerate the limited set of things they wanted the federal government to do, like make treaties and war, raise armies and regulate interstate commerce. In the 10th Amendment they reinforced this idea: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."This seems strange, in light of the fact that the federal government now does all sorts of crazy things that are not listed in its powers. For example, the feds regulate public schools in many ways, such as the No Child Left Behind Act. But they have a sneaky way of doing this; they can't force states to comply with the rules, but they deny federal funding to schools that do not. They do the same thing with roads, health care and a whole array of things the framers did not intend them to be involved with.Raich's attorneys say that the feds have no right to restrict medical marijuana. Ashcroft is claiming that in fact, the power to regulate medicinal marijuana falls under the interstate commerce clause. Since drugs can potentially pass from one state to another, it is deemed relevant to interstate commerce, and thus the federal government has the right to ban it.He is clearly correct in noting that pot travels. Illicit growers in Oregon's basements and backwoods grow tons for export, and some even claim that a full accounting would show marijuana to beat grass seed as the state's biggest cash crop. Strangely, we also import a lot. For those who smoke pot (I'm, of course, not endorsing it), you may have heard that yours came from anywhere along the Pacific Coast, with the most common sources being British Columbia and Mexico (B.C. and Mexi, obviously).From this, one could infer that Ashcroft is correct in asserting that pot will travel, and it is thus an interstate issue, and the federal government therefore has the right to ban it.This case demonstrates the strange way, which every citizen should notice, that the courts can truly respect the law, and read it correctly, then possibly come out with a totally unjust verdict. It's a legal mess, and the real losers will probably be the poor, sick people who just want their medicine.Sanjai Tripathi is a graduate student in microbiology. The opinions expressed in his columns, which appear every Thursday, do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Barometer staff. For more information, see a good article at: http://www.slate.msn.com/id/2110204/ -- health care information at: http://www.aids.org -- or a startling bit of misinformation from our government at: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/marijuana.htmlSource: Daily Barometer (Oregon State, OR Edu)Author: Sanjai Tripathi Published: December 02, 2004 Copyright: 2004, The Daily BarometerWebsite: http://barometer.orst.edu/Contact: forum studentmedia.orst.eduRelated Articles & Web Site:Angel Raich v. Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htmMed Marijuana Case Tests Limits of Federalismhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19951.shtmlTesting The Limits of Big Governmenthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19949.shtmlSupreme Court Hears Oral Argument on MMJhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19948.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on December 03, 2004 at 19:56:12 PT
Cancer and death and Cannabis
A young woman I know of was sent home from the hospital to die from her overwhelming cancer. Her friends brought her cannabis and her young husband risked jail to buy her a very adequate supply which could have caused them to all be felons.Her last days were spent with friends. Some smoked with her. Some not. I was told she knew exactly what was happening to her. Exactly. She could laugh a bit and enjoy a bit and rejoice in her friends and family. It seemed to help her be in that strongest, brightest part of her soul and spirit that she needed to be in. She suffered, but she suffered strong and brave and was able to cheer others and leave them with wonderful memories. She didn't go the suicide route to escape her pain and sorrow. She took care of everything she wanted to take care before she left. Thankfully, she did get comfort of graceful proportions from her use of the gift of the earth, or God, or whoever you want to attribute it's creation to...a "drug producer"? I thank the God of All Light, the God of All Holiness, The I AM THAT I AM, Jehovah God and Jesus Christ…they are One. I have discerned and believe cannabis is a “good gift”…and not a “snake or a rock.” There are many “good gifts”, but because of fear and prejudice and ignorance, cannabis or it's use can stir horrid emotions in some people...that have never used it,(for heaven's sake!), or wouldn't know it if they saw it, even...or perhaps, because they are one of those people who find it's effects alarming or disturbing or uncomfortable...anything but pleasant. Because spinach gives you a stomach ache...you should forbid others to use this fruit of the earth?My "bleeding" heart likes to think the soul that dwelled in the young woman’s cancer consumed body drifted gently into the full knowledge of a loving God at that moment.
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Comment #2 posted by Max Flowers on December 03, 2004 at 18:31:08 PT
chemo and radiation, huh? ...not this kid 
I can tell you all this much: I try hard to live clean and reduce all risks of cancer, but if I ever do get cancer, I will NOT do chemotherapy and radiation. I will try enzyme therapy in Japan or maybe other alternative treatments in Europe if necessary, but I won't be the lab rat in that state-sanctioned torture, no way.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on December 02, 2004 at 14:19:42 PT
She uses marijuana for her medicine
"The plaintiff in the case is Angel McClary Raich, a woman with a staggering array of severe illnesses including cancers and chronic spasms who claims to need marijuana therapy to survive."The medicine is marijuana and it must be having some kind of life-saving effect. Fact is, she's still alive.Steve Kubby is, too. Facts are stubborn. The don't and won't budge.I have had an uncle, brother-in-law, a high school friend all die of cancer and all were treated with chemotherapy and radiation. I have a cousin who has lung and breast cancer and is currently being treated with chemotherapy. She is experiencing and the deceased experienced a living hell.Facts don't lie. Maybe the medical science of chemotherapy and radiation isn't working. I will argue against the use of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. I have a bias against the use of the treatment, though. It is difficult for me to be objective.Looks as though cannabis has some kind of positive in its favor. From personal experience, smoked cannabis is far safer and effective than chemotherapy and radiation therapy, from my point of view.
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