cannabisnews.com: The Next Step on Medical Pot The Next Step on Medical Pot Posted by FoM on September 15, 1999 at 09:22:47 PT Commentary Source: LA Times Three years ago, when California voters approved Proposition 215, which legalized the medical use of marijuana, then-Gov. Pete Wilson struggled to reconcile the contradiction between the measure and federal drug laws that forbade marijuana use. Gov. Gray Davis has tried to avoid the quagmire by pointing out that federal laws trump state laws and that it would be illegal for his administration to sanction any use of the drug. On Monday, however, three federal appeals court judges deprived Davis of that evasive bit of reasoning. The court essentially ruled that the handful of cannabis clubs that distribute medical marijuana in the state can do so as long as they can prove that the drug is needed to protect sick people from serious harm. The decision does not change federal drug rules, which classify marijuana as a "Schedule 1 drug," meaning a substance without medicinal value. The decision should prompt state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer to comply with the spirit of Proposition 215 by issuing guidelines to help local law enforcement officials monitor whether cannabis centers are distributing medical marijuana responsibly. Lockyer's guidelines should be based not on the measure itself, for while its backers say it restricts marijuana to patients with "serious illnesses," it in fact allows doctors to prescribe it for minor ailments like nausea. The attorney general should follow the appeals court ruling, which supports mainstream medical opinion that marijuana is demonstrably superior to other drugs only for those suffering from particularly severe illnesses like AIDS and cancer. Some legislators argue that any sort of state guidelines on Proposition 215 would encourage recreational as well as responsible use of marijuana. In fact the opposite is true. Cannabis clubs are already implementing the measure, and local law enforcement officials, without guidelines from the state, cannot ensure they are acting responsibly. Wednesday, September 15, 1999 Copyright 1999 Los Angeles TimesFederal Appeals Court Announces Ruling on MMJhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread2886.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by Rose on March 30, 2001 at 17:39:00 PT: MJ Legalization for Medical Use With the ever increasing discussions pertaining to the use of mj for releaving nausia that results from everything from AIDS, cancer treatment and even migraine headaches, I felt I just had to put in my two cents worth. Take it from someone who watched their own father waste away to a shadow of himself because of the side effects of the drugs and radiation used to "cure" him of his lung cancer. Until you have held someones hand and head while they retched until they cried for God's help and mercy, don't even pretend to know how helpless the situation can get. My dad NEVER complained about even a headache while he underwent all the poking and proding he had to deal with after he was diagnosed. He handled his illness with strength, courage and more class than I can ever truely express to you. The thing that literally "brought him to his knees" was the awful loss of control that overtakes you when you puke, and puke, and puke. I watched him him slip away a little at a time and there was NOTHING I, or anyone else could do for him!!! We had even discussed the possibility of him trying it. He was more afraid of getting me in trouble with the law by trying to buy some for him to try than his disease itself and what it was doing to him. I strongly feel that if he could have kept his weight stable he could have beaten the odds. Ultimately, his cancer was in remission but he was so weak from wasting that he died from complications with his heart. It only makes sense that decent, not even good nutrition, would only be a plus for any very serious disease. How can these people in government NOT see this simple fact! I'm not saying it is a cure-all for everything but if it can ease the pain for someone that is suffering and trying their best to get well, I say HELP THEM!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by cerebus on September 15, 1999 at 13:29:34 PT amen you know...id rather suffer from emphasima maybe long term lung cancer, which isnt even proven yet btw, and some short term memory hiccups and slight motor imparement, and possibly munchies than deal with....seizures, baldness, impotency, crippling drousyness, impotency, miscarrage, birth defects, headache, dirrahea, cramping, balding, etc.....some of the lists of side effects of legal drugs. go figure eh? marijuana can ease some ills stimulate appetite and help suffering people ease their time on this planet with terrible diseases. and yet the feds still lie and insists on a fact that medical studies and patients (even anti-marijuana patients, who resoted to mj as a last resort) all attest to the fact that it is an effective alternative to the super-expensive high side effect alternatives to medicines. and tell me this if u cant swallow food cause u vomit it up how u supposed to keep a pill down? smoking anything isnt good for u (duh). but ill tell u the long term effects dont matter to these people. and truth be told smoking may be the only delivery system that may work for many of these seriously ill patients on a daily basis at this point. and atomizers and bongs filter and utilize mj in ways that may be better than joints or regular pipes. truth and moderation in all things! 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