cannabisnews.com: Doctors Oppose Ballot Measure To Legalize MMJ.





Doctors Oppose Ballot Measure To Legalize MMJ.
Posted by FoM on September 18, 1999 at 11:56:47 PT
By Associated Press
Source: Boston Globe
The Maine Medical Association has lined up in opposition to the medical use of marijuana. At its annual meeting, the association's House of Delegates voted Friday against a November ballot initiative that would allow patients with some illnesses to grow and use small amounts of the drug.
Nearly 100 people voted by show of hands, and the resolution opposing the measure was approved handily. The doctors said the measure required more study, and they expressed concern about lack of standardized preparation and sources of the marijuana. ''It was an easy decision ... when considered on its scientific merits,'' said Dr. Katherine Stoddard Pope, a Portland anesthesiologist who led a committee that proposed the opposition statement. Dr. John Garofalo, a family physician based in Augusta, helped write the statement opposing the initiative. He called marijuana a ''gateway drug'' that can lead to use of harder drugs. In addition, doctors would have no way to ensure a home-grown plant's potency or purity, he said. Activists collected enough signatures to force the November vote on medical use of marijuana. If the measure is passed, Maine would become the sixth state to legalize the drug for such purposes. The question going before voters in November asks whether Mainers should be allowed to possess ''a usable amount of marijuana for medical use'' if a doctor can document that a grower has any of several illnesses or if a doctor believes it would help a patient. The proposed law defines a usable amount as 1.25 ounces of harvested marijuana and up to six marijuana plants, no more than three of which may be mature, flowering plants. The list of qualifying ailments includes persistent nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite from AIDS or cancer treatments, glaucoma and seizures or muscle spasms from chronic diseases, such as epilepsy or multiple sclerosis. By Associated Press, 09/18/99 13:23 Pot Smokers to Protest in Defiance on Common - 9/18/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2931.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 19, 1999 at 14:02:52 PT
You're Right!
That's right Cryote. The problem is doctors don't really lean on the Hippocratic Oath they took. They are controlled by laws that are wrong. No one should be denied anything that makes their life a little less painful. It surely seems to be the right thing to do. If our government got their noses out of everyones life things would be so much better. Less is more philosophy!Peace, FoM!
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Comment #4 posted by cryote on September 19, 1999 at 07:12:38 PT
Doctors that kill
These ignorant puppets don't deserve to be called Doctor or practice medicine. The patient should always come first. Too many "doctors" get a God complex. Thinking their opinions should be law! We Don't Care about their unsubstantiated opinions. CARE FOR PEOPLE or GET OUT OF THE PROFESSION!We've got enough worthless politicians making policies that kill without these turncoat QUACKS! GET INFORMED OR KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Your ignorance is not helpful. IT KILLS!
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 18, 1999 at 19:36:17 PT:
Marijuana as a "Gateway" Drug
Marijuana as a "Gateway" DrugPatterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana¾ usually before they are of legal age. In the sense that marijuana use typically precedes rather than follows initiation of other illicit drug use, it is indeed a "gateway" drug. But because underage smoking and alcohol use typically precede marijuana use, marijuana is not the most common, and is rarely the first, "gateway" to illicit drug use. There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs. An important caution is that data on drug use progression cannot be assumed to apply to the use of drugs for medical purposes. It does not follow from those data that if marijuana were available by prescription for medical use, the pattern of drug use would remain the same as seen in illicit use.Finally, there is a broad social concern that sanctioning the medical use of marijuana might increase its use among the general population. At this point there are no convincing data to support this concern. The existing data are consistent with the idea that this would not be a problem if the medical use of marijuana were as closely regulated as other medications with abuse potential.Conclusion: Present data on drug use progression neither support nor refute the suggestion that medical availability would increase drug abuse. However, this question is beyond the issues normally considered for medical uses of drugs, and should not be a factor in evaluating the therapeutic potential of marijuana or cannabinoids.
The Institute of Medicine Report
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Comment #2 posted by RocketMan on September 18, 1999 at 18:13:45 PT
a crock
It's obvious to me, the last thing these doctors are concerned with are people. They are only concerned about their pocket books.They like to pretend they are clueless about marijuana, but the truth is, they are deceitful.Everyone (not just pot smokers) have come not to trust the health care industry, and this is a good example of why.
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Comment #1 posted by observer on September 18, 1999 at 15:27:22 PT
voted by show of hands ... approved handily
> Nearly 100 people voted by show of hands, and the resolution opposing the measure was approved handily."approved handily" ??Groan...> "He called marijuana a ''gateway drug'' that can lead to use of harder drugs. In addition, doctors would have no way to ensure a home-grown plant's potency or purity, he said.Great reasoning from a "health care" professional! Can't ensure potency or purity etc., so therefore the good doctor wants to continue jailing adults, stealing their possesions, shooting them if they resist (or even if the do not resist). Much better for the pot-smoker's health that way you see...Thank you doctor.
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