cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Amendment Flawed 





Medical Marijuana Amendment Flawed 
Posted by FoM on September 10, 2000 at 08:26:03 PT
By Vincent Carrol
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News
There are roughly 10,000 doctors practicing medicine in Colorado, yet not one is riding into battle beside sponsors of the medical marijuana initiative. Not one. There were no doctors publicly allied with Coloradans for Medical Rights in 1998, when Amendment 20 initially made the ballot (and was illegally thrown off by the secretary of state), and there were still no doctors on board last week when I checked with the sponsors again. 
What gives? You can find maverick doctors willing to put in a good word for virtually any exotic nostrum on the market. We've seen them plugging unorthodox diet books that ought to be plastered with consumer warning labels. And yet when it comes to Amendment 20, the mavericks have fled the scene. No one rises to contradict the medical establishment. No one steps forward, links arms with the initiative's sponsors, and tells us why we need to decriminalize marijuana for use by patients in pain. If there were a groundswell of Coloradans demanding marijuana as the only way to relieve their agony, wouldn't you think some doctors would rally to their cause? It makes you wonder whose agenda this amendment is meant to serve: doctors' and patients', or the wealthy supporters of drug legalization who've bankrolled this and similar ballot measures across the land. Another worry: the amendment's definition of who would qualify to use marijuana. No, not just those afflicted with AIDS, cancer or other specific, devastating conditions, but anyone claiming to suffer from severe and chronic pain. Now, I'm someone who does believe that doctors and desperate patients should be able to choose the pain and nausea treatment they like, however outside mainstream medical practice. That's why deciding how to vote on Amendment 20 will be such a challenge for me. There's no question that the ''cannabinoid drugs'' in marijuana (THC is the best known, but there are others) can relieve pain, stimulate appetite and suppress nausea. And there is also no question that at least a few patients insist that marijuana gives them more effective, immediate relief than the legal synthetic alternatives that work best for everyone else. Even a 1999 study by the Institute for Medicine conducted at the request of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy acknowledged that ''until a nonsmoked, rapid-onset cannabinoid drug delivery system becomes available," there "is no clear alternative" to marijuana use in some instances. To be sure, the researchers who conducted that study went to great pains to stress ''the future of cannabinoid drugs lies not in smoked marijuana but in chemically-defined drugs'' and that ''because of the health risk associated with smoking, smoked marijuana should generally not be recommended for long-term medical use.''Yet under Amendment 20, a patient could smoke marijuana as a long-term treatment through repeated renewals of a one-year registry card. With broader professional support and a better crafted amendment, Coloradans for Medical Rights could have made voting easy for those of us who sympathize with the principle behind their cause. Instead, they chose to make it hard. Vincent Carroll is editor of the editorial pages. You can reach him at: carrollv RockyMountainNews.comPublished: September 10, 2000 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)Copyright: 2000 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters denver-rmn.com Address: 400 W. Colfax, Denver, CO 80204Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Coloradans For Medical Rights http://www.medicalmarijuana.com/Drug Policy Forum of Coloradohttp://www.drugsense.org/dpfco/ It's Bad Medicine, It's Bad Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6986.shtmlMedical Marijuana Foes Irked http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6961.shtmlPersonal Becomes Political for MMJ Issue Advocatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6842.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #8 posted by Malcolm Watts Canada on January 13, 2001 at 06:59:02 PT:
medical use of Cannabis
As a matter of fact I find it difficult to understand why the government has not been challenged in court to show cause why Cannabis should be illegal for any purpose. The law banning its use is arbitrary, and was based on erroneous assumptions that have long since been shown to be ridiculous. 
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Comment #7 posted by nl5x on September 11, 2000 at 20:08:50 PT
copy/paste info
The DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care." Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22], (1988, September 6), p. 57. Organizations that have endorsed medical access to marijuana include: The Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians; American Bar Association; American Public Health Association; American Society of Addiction Medicine; AIDS Action Council; British Medical Association; California Academy of Family Physicians; California Legislative Council for Older Americans; California Medical Association; California Nurses Association; California Pharmacists Association; California Society of Addiction Medicine; California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; Colorado Nurses Association; Consumer Reports Magazine; Kaiser Permanente; Lymphoma Foundation of America; Multiple Sclerosis California Action Network; National Association of Attorneys General; National Association of People with AIDS; National Nurses Society on Addictions; New Mexico Nurses Association; New York State Nurses Association; New England Journal of Medicine; and Virginia Nurses Association.A few of the editorial boards that have endorsed medical access to marijuana include: Boston Globe; Chicago Tribune; Miami Herald; New York Times; Orange County Register; and USA Today.Many organizations have favorable positions (e.g., unimpeded research) on medical marijuana. These groups include:The Institute of Medicine, The American Cancer Society; American Medical Association; Australian Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health; California Medical Association; Federation of American Scientists; Florida Medical Association; and the National Academy of Sciences ETC.The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 established five categories, or "schedules," into which all illicit and prescription drugs were placed. Marijuana was placed in Schedule I, which defines the substance as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. To contrast, over 90 published reports and studies have shown marijuana has medical efficacy.Sources: The Controlled Substances Act of 1970, 21 U.S.C. §§ 801 et seq.; Common Sense for Drug Policy, Compendium of Reports, Research and Articles Demonstrating the Effectiveness of Medical Marijuana, Vol. I & Vol. II, Falls Church, VA: Common Sense for Drug Policy (1997, 
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Comment #6 posted by Dr. Ganj on September 10, 2000 at 23:34:05 PT
Great Posts!
Thank you all for posting such well thought out remarks!As more people learn the truth about cannabis through websites like this, we will see more progress in the changing of the laws against this beautiful plant.Most people just read these articles, and it's really nice to see new posts from the readers out there! Make your voice and opinion heard! Let's stop the madness, and free the jailed.Cheers,Dr. Ganj  
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/petitions/99hemp.htm
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Comment #5 posted by Frank on September 10, 2000 at 19:47:09 PT
Stand up to Federal Lies and Threats
I can’t imagine why many doctors have not spoken out publicly? Maybe it’s because they fear the Federaljackboot on their throat. I have spoken to many physicians privately and all but one told me that marijuana had a valid medical use. Doctors are afraid of the great evil that resides in Washington, DC. When a government has to threaten physicians over a health issue such as recommending marijuana, something is seriously wrong. The jackbooters in Washington are not worth of your support or your tax dollars. Many people in Europe say that the American Government is the new Nazis. This “War on Drugs” has become a war against our own people and children. One summer when I was in school we went to Europe. While there we went to Ann Frank’s House in Amsterdam, Holland. It’s a national historic place there. I walked up the staircase where the Frank family hid from the Nazis and into their living quarters. A chill ran down my spine. As I examined the artifacts there I found a quote from Ann Frank; “Everything became forbidden.” We think it can never happen here in America. I have news for you; it is happening here. With 2,000,000 people in prison most for non-violent “marijuana crimes” we have our own concentration camps and ethnic cleansing. Just substitutethe word Jew for marijuana smoker and you will get the picture. It’s time we as a people stand up against the sump of filth, injustice and lies that emanate from the “Drug Czar”, Dare, and the political trash in Washington, DC. Make no mistake they are coming for you or members of your family. Don’t let this happen. Stand up against the jackbooters now or you may find yourself hiding in an attic like Ann Frank praying that you will not feel a Federal bayonet stuck though you heart.  
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Comment #4 posted by i_rule_ on September 10, 2000 at 18:19:35 PT:
uh......
Carrol, There are two doctors listed in "related articles", under your post. Please read: (It's Bad Medicine, It's Bad Law PRO) who support legalizing medical marijuana. Martin Chilcutt, a retired psychologist AND former member of Coloradans for Medical Rights, and Chris Ott, M.D. in Denver. Just for posting on this very public forum qualifies them, to me at least, as maverick doctors who support this medical marijuana initiative. Peace, and thank you for at least tenatively supporting the medical marijuana initiative. Oh, and, uh, Carrol, watch what you read from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, It is 99.9% propaganda and lies. They are the ones sponsoring the War on People Who Try to Find Alternative Treatment for Medical Conditions, People of Color, and People Who Seek Enlightenment and Happiness from The Plant of Life. They are very crafty with their lies and misinformation. You can find many more truths and correct, precise information by visiting this site, and listening to the truth that is being spoken about marijuana. 
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Comment #3 posted by MikeEEEEE on September 10, 2000 at 11:55:43 PT
Yes on the inside, nothing on the outside
I think it's fear but that should subside one day soon.
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Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on September 10, 2000 at 11:37:06 PT
Some
of the sponsors of this amendment are nurses. It would be great if one of the doctor in Colorado speak out but I know they are in catch-22 position. I know what is like to have a bad chronic pain everyday. It is no fun. My lower back is always in constant pain. Some days are good but some days I could not barely move. It is not right for this author to presume that he thinks I am not in pain but pretending to be in pain. Only folks I know who would do that are the DEA freaks.For those who are in pain, it is personal and private. It is morally evil to criminalize these people just so that those who pretend to be in pain would not be able to do that?? What if it is just one faker? 
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on September 10, 2000 at 09:41:32 PT:
Backlash
Doctors are inherently conservative. They fear repercussions, and meddling in their work. Can you spell B-A-C-K-L-A-S-H? I could volunteer to go to Colorado, but even as a Rocky Mountainer, I would still considered an "outsider" by this logic.
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