cannabisnews.com: Drugs and Reality 





Drugs and Reality 
Posted by FoM on December 20, 2000 at 21:20:03 PT
Editorial
Source: Detroit Free Press
For some people, marijuana is much more than a casual indulgence. It's the only way they can find to ease the pain of devastating disease -- or the debilitating side effects of treatment.While some medical experts contend that legal drugs can take care of the most uncomfortable symptoms, others -- as well as a federal appeals court in California -- say the opposite. 
Marijuana, they say, is the only thing in some cases that can settle nausea, help patients gain weight, and calm muscle twitches." ...there is a class of people with serious medical conditions for whom the use of cannabis is necessary in order to treat or alleviate those conditions or their symptoms; who will suffer serious harm if they are denied cannabis; and for whom there is no legal alternative to cannabis for the effective treatment of their medical conditions because they ...have found that they are ineffective, or that they result in intolerable side effects."The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals made that pronouncement in the case of the United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative. The ruling is expected to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this spring.The cooperative, in accordance with California law, helps people get marijuana, so long as they have a doctor's recommendation that it will help keep their symptoms at bay. In 1996, California became the first of nine states to allow medical use of marijuana. But the U.S. Department of Justice argues any such law "threatens the government's ability to enforce the federal drug laws."The Supreme Court will have to choose whether to side with the Justice Department, which has the Controlled Substances Act on its side, or the drug cooperative, which has science and states' rights in its corner.If justice is merciful, the medical use of marijuana will be deemed a legitimate exception to the act, especially if states choose to allow for its use.Lord knows there is work to be done to improve pain management in this country. Medical marijuana doesn't come close to addressing all the problems of the chronically ill. But if it brings real relief to those who can't find it anywhere else, where's the harm?Note: Good sense and mercy should allow for limited medical use of marijuana.Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)Published: December 20, 2000Copyright: 2000 Detroit Free PressContact: letters freepress.comWebsite: http://www.freep.com/Forum: http://www.freep.com/webx/cgi-bin/WebXRelated Articles & Web Site:Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Regulating Marijuana Closes Gatewayhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8042.shtmlRegulating Marijuana Closes Gatewayhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7958.shtmlWhy Won't Government Let Us Use Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7925.shtml
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