cannabisnews.com: Unnecessary Death Unnecessary Death Posted by FoM on June 19, 2000 at 17:59:50 PT Medical marijuana saves lives Source: Michigan Daily Last Wednesday, author turned medical marijuana advocate Peter McWilliams was found in his California home, choked to death on his own vomit. After being arrested for selling marijuana to medical buyers' clubs, McWilliams was barred from using California's Prop. 215 (which legalized medical marijuana in that state) as a defense in his federal trial.He was forced to plead guilty and sentenced to a parole that denied him the right to use the only medicine that allowed him to stomach a powerful cocktail of AIDS and cancer drugs: marijuana. This begs the question: how many more must die before this legitimate medicine can reach the sick and the dying?McWilliams' AIDS and Cancer had been in remission with his use of potent prescription drugs. But the only way he and many other sufferers of these disorders can cope with the overwhelming toll of these drugs is with a substance that is still illegal in most states. The power of federal law to override local initiatives, as well as a continued rejection by the government's top drug authorities of marijuana's medicinal claims is directly responsible for this man's death. He is the victim of lawmaker's continued ignorance. Their reliance on prohibitionist tactics has long overstayed its welcome. The tragic death of Peter McWilliams highlights the government's continued failure to accept the virtues of medical marijuana, despite its historic usage. Our lawmakers continually withstand the ravages of alcohol, a drug that contributes to over 100,000 deaths annually. They also contribute huge subsidies to tobacco farmers, who sell products that are directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths. The best figures available indicate that marijuana may fight certain types of cancer. Some use it to relieve symptoms of certain lung diseases like asthma. It has also never been responsible for a single death. It is only our unwillingness to accept the failure of the war on marijuana that continues to deny patients the medicine they direly need.Letters To the Editor: daily.letters umich.edu Comments to Online Staff: online.daily umich.edu Published: June 19, 2000Copyright 2000 The Michigan DailyRelated Articles & Web Sites:The Medical Marijuana Magazinehttp://www.marijuanamagazine.com/McWilliams.comhttp://www.mcwilliams.com PeterTrialhttp://www.petertrial.com/Grow Medicinehttp://www.growmedicine.com/ Learning from Peter McWilliams http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6086.shtmlPeter McWilliams Backed Medical Use of Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6083.shtmlLibertarians Mourn Passing of M Marijuana Activisthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6078.shtmlPeter McWilliams Passes Away http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6069.shtml Pictures Of Peter McWilliams 1950 - 2000http://mischiefmarketing.com/mcwilliams/pics_01.html Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 19, 2000 at 21:35:08 PT Thank You Doctor Dave Thank you Doctor Dave! I'm glad you reposted your Eulogy. I have been touched by Peter's untimely death more then anyone that we have lost and they all are very important. Here are a few more Heroes that are no longer with us! Brownie Maryhttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/browniemary.htmTeresa Leigh Robertshttp://www.marijuana.org/hazel.htmJoseph A. Hart, Medical Marijuana Activisthttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2591.shtmlTrue Love Strikes When You Least Expect Ithttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2392.shtmlEulogy For Jim Rosenfieldhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4081.shtmlThink for YourselfA Drug Policy Reading Room On The Drug Warhttp://www.drugsense.org/jnr/think.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Doctor Dave on June 19, 2000 at 19:49:34 PT Eulogy for Peter McWilliams (repost) My heart goes out to the friends, family, and relatives of Peter McWilliams, as well as to the many other people whose lives he touched.He will be remembered as a martyr, a victim of wartime atrocities committed in the name of Prohibition, denial of medical rights, and more simply, the denial of liberty and justice.It is a disgrace that this has happened -- it would not have occurred in a more enlightened society. It is my hope that through his death more people will become more aware of the war crimes being committed by the government, and that thatknowledge will spur people into action. I think that's what he would have wanted.Doctor Dave"A nation that makes war on huge numbers of its own people can never truly be free."Deaths from alcohol, tobacco: hundreds of thousands per yearDeaths from marijuana: 0Deaths from marijuana prohibition: +1 (at least) on June 14th(I originally posted this on another cannabisnews.com Peter McWilliams article, http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread6086.shtml , but I thought it was important enough to post it again) Learning from Peter McWilliams [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: