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Reefer Sanity
Posted by FoM on August 14, 2000 at 18:51:52 PT
Medical marijuana in Ann Arbor
Source: Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor is very close to getting a local initiative that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes on the ballot in November. With only a few days of petitioning left, the local Libertarians spearheading this effort need students and local advocates of medical marijuana to register to vote in Ann Arbor and sign the petition that would put this issue to a city-wide vote.
This initiative is important for the large number of Ann Arbor residents who have found that their use of marijuana is a relief from painful symptoms caused by a myriad of diseases. Aside from lessening the symptoms of glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and some forms of asthma, marijuana can be used help cancer and AIDS patients deal with the effects of powerful drug cocktails and chemotherapy treatments. It relieves their pain, but, unlike prescription painkillers that numb patients, marijuana allows them to live their lives normally. This initiative would prevent the sick and debilitated from getting fined or thrown in jail by local law enforcement. The libertarian's plan, if it gets on the ballot and passes by a majority vote, would allow patients the right to use marijuana with a doctor's prescription and prevents Ann Arbor police from arresting them.University professor of psychiatry and neuroscience Stanley Watson, an investigator for the National Academy of Sciences, recently agreed that marijuana merits more medical research because of its potential in helping people with cancer and AIDS. Aside from an outright endorsement of the natural plant, he recommends doctors prescribe prescription drugs containing THC, (the active chemical in marijuana) he thinks that smoking poses respiratory risk to patients, including lung cancer. He would prefer a vaporizer.This is an invalid argument because marijuana has never received serious cancer study inside the United States. A recent study in Spain found that marijuana was highly effective in treating rats with cancerous tumors. Surveys of Rastafarian elders, who smoke cannabis in large quantities as part of their religious ceremonies, showed abnormally low incidence of cancer, even when compared against local control populations. Clearly more investigations and studies must be made before claims that marijuana fights cancer can be substantiated, but, on the other hand, claims that marijuana is carcinogenic are not clear either. This argument is more a remnant of the fight against tobacco's carcinogenic potential than marijuana's and should be abandoned until more research confirms or disproves it entirely.It is also unthinkable to suggest that patients should pay exorbitant prices for synthetic THC when it grows naturally and in abundance in a natural form. Pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to profit from outdated laws prohibiting medicinal use of marijuana. This local initiative is Ann Arbor's chance to give freedom to these patients and send a message that the future of medicine does not have to be tied to profit-driven pharmaceutical companies.So, if a petitioner on the street asks you if you're registered to vote in Ann Arbor, make sure you can answer "yes." Then sign the petition to help these brave locals get the relief from pain they deserve.Published: August 14, 2000Source: Michigan Daily (MI)Copyright: 2000 The Michigan DailyContact: daily.letters umich.eduAddress: 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327Related Articles: Study Finds Pot Safe for AIDS Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6390.shtmlCity Vote Sought on Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4398.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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