cannabisnews.com: Feds' Joint Effort May OK Weed as RX for Ills! 





Feds' Joint Effort May OK Weed as RX for Ills! 
Posted by FoM on March 18, 1999 at 05:55:32 PT

In a report bound to fan the fumes of controversy about the forbidden weed, the Institute of Medicine found yesterday that: *Marijuana is not particularly addictive and is not a "gateway" to the use of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin. 
 A federal advisory panel is high on the medical use of marijuana, saying pot may be the best treatment to stop the pain and suffering of AIDS and cancer patients. *There is no evidence the medical use of pot would increase public abuse of the drug. "This is the beginning of the end of the war on the medical use of marijuana," said Dennis Peron, who led the fight to approve California's Proposition 15, which permits the medical use of pot. "In fact, it may be the beginning of the end of the war on marijuana," he said from his 20-acre pot farm in Clear Lake, Calif., 60 miles north of San Francisco. Tom Leighton, founder of the Marijuana Reform Party, which seeks the legalization of pot in New York state, was less optimistic. "It's a small step and an important one. But there have been countless reports that marijuana is therapeutically effective and the government has ignored them all," he said. The 18-month study was commissioned by federal drug czar Barry McCaffrey, who declared two years ago that there is not "a shred of scientific evidence that smoked marijuana is useful or needed." It cost $900,000 and was conducted by the institute, an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences that provides the federal government with independent scientific advice. McCaffrey wasn't high on the results, saying that "we're where we need to be" on legalizing pot. The investigators found that smoking marijuana can cause respiratory disease. But they said that for AIDS or cancer patients suffering from such crippling complications as pain, wasting, nausea and lack of appetite, the benefits of pot outweigh the risks. "For certain patients, such as the terminally ill or those with debilitating symptoms, the long-term risks are not of great concern," they said. The investigators called for the development of an inhaler that could deliver THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. But they acknowledged that patients might not want to wait years for that to happen. So they recommended that doctors be allowed to launch individual clinical studies of marijuana, informing each patient of the risks and benefits of smoking the drug. Irvin Rosenfeld, a Boca Raton, Fla., stockbroker who has had marijuana supplied by the federal government for 27 years because of a rare medical condition, said the findings are long overdue. "When you have a devastating disease, all you care about is getting the right medicine and not having to worry about being made a criminal," he said.  http://www.nypostonline.com/031899/news/5026.htm
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Comment #2 posted by Ruth on March 18, 1999 at 07:17:12 PT:
Should it be legalised?
  I have to conduct a speech on whether the stuff should be legalised or not. Do you have any comments? Please e-mail back within the next couple of days. Cheers!
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Comment #1 posted by Ruth on March 18, 1999 at 07:17:10 PT:
Should it be legalised?
  I have to conduct a speech on whether the stuff should be legalised or not. Do you have any comments? Please e-mail back within the next couple of days. Cheers!
[ Post Comment ]

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