cannabisnews.com: U.S. Resists Marijuana For The Sick


cannabisnews.com: U.S. Resists Marijuana For The Sick





U.S. Resists Marijuana For The Sick
Posted by FoM on May 04, 2001 at 07:28:38 PT
By Thomas Healy, Sun National Staff
Source: Baltimore Sun 
Paul Boone says he never intended to start smoking marijuana. But last summer, when the cancer that was attacking his liver made him so nauseated that he lost 40 pounds, he became desperate.So the 35-year-old computer consultant searched the Internet for a local head shop. He drove to Fells Point, bought two pipes and called a friend who had offered to find marijuana for him. In September, when he lighted up for the first time, the relief was almost instant, he says.
"I couldn't believe how fast it stopped my nausea," says the Harford County resident, who has since regained 20 pounds despite six rounds of chemotherapy. "I still can't believe it works. I didn't believe it at the time."Boone is one of many patients in Maryland and across the country who say they have come to depend on marijuana as part of their treatment. Cancer patients smoke it to cope with the effects of chemotherapy, AIDS patients to stimulate hunger and gain weight, and people suffering from neuromuscular disorders to ease pain and muscle spasms.The growing demand of such patients for marijuana has led to a striking reform of state criminal laws. In the past five years, eight states have approved measures allowing patients with certain medical conditions to smoke marijuana under a doctor's supervision. Legislatures in five other states, including Maryland, have begun to consider the matter.But the federal government continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic, meaning that its use is a crime under any circumstances. And in a case pending before the Supreme Court, the government is trying to undercut the state measures and put an end to the medical use of pot.The case involves six "cannabis clubs" that sprang up in California after the approval of Proposition 215, the first of the state initiatives to legalize medical marijuana. Started by local activists, the clubs began growing marijuana and selling it to patients whose doctors had cleared them to use the drug.Local officials gave their blessing to that arrangement, and county prosecutors agreed not to interfere. But the Justice Department sued three years ago to shut the clubs, saying their activities violated federal laws against possessing or distributing marijuana.A U.S. district judge initially granted the government's request. But after being reversed by an appeals court, he ruled that the clubs could continue to serve patients who faced imminent harm and had no other choice. The government appealed to the Supreme Court, which will probably issue a decision by early summer.The stakes are high. If the court sides with the government, it will significantly disrupt the medical marijuana movement. Though the case involves only the right of clubs to distribute marijuana - not the right of patients to smoke it - closing the clubs would leave patients with no legitimate source.If the court rules for the clubs, it could put a stamp of legitimacy on medical marijuana. It could also rejuvenate efforts to legalize its use for patients nationwide."It would be tremendous," says Alan St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "It would galvanize and institutionalize the concept that marijuana is medicine."When the case was argued before the Supreme Court last month, the justices sent conflicting signals. A few appeared sympathetic to the claim that marijuana is sometimes medically necessary, but others seemed skeptical. And some justices, while allowing that the drug might have benefits, questioned whether it was possible to distinguish between those patients who need it and those who simply enjoy it.The dispute among the justices reflects a larger societal rift. Since rising to national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the medical use of marijuana has been vigorously debated.Supporters say marijuana is an ancient remedy that has been classified unwisely as a dangerous drug. They say it stops nausea, stimulates hunger, relieves pain and soothes nerves, all of which can help the seriously ill cope with their diseases and the often brutal treatments for them.They also argue that marijuana is valuable in treating glaucoma, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.Most opponents don't deny that marijuana provides benefits. A study commissioned by the federal government concluded that the drug has "potential therapeutic value." But they argue that any benefits are outweighed by other considerations.For one thing, critics say, smoking marijuana - like smoking tobacco - can lead to lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.They also argue that marijuana has undesirable side effects, such as paranoia and dizziness.Their biggest fear is that the medical use of marijuana would increase drug use in general. They express particular concern that if children saw adults smoking pot to treat illnesses, they would be encouraged to smoke it themselves."When we have mixed messages on the street, that has an impact on kids," says Robert L. Maginnis, a vice president at the Family Research Council, which supports the government's case. "It's a public policy trade-off."If officials excuse the use of marijuana for a limited number of people, they risk the negative impact on a particular segment of the population."Maginnis argues that the government should not run that risk until it has exhausted other options. He notes that researchers are studying ways to replicate the benefits of marijuana without the hazards. Until they succeed, he says, other medicines can help patients cope with their suffering.Hormone pills, for instance, help build muscle mass and increase weight, and prescription drugs such as Zofran ease nausea. Marinol, a drug that contains one of the active ingredients of marijuana, helps stimulate hunger.Doctors say such drugs have drawbacks. Testosterone causes mood swings and often leads to prostate enlargement, which, some doctors fear, raises the risk of prostate cancer. Zofran costs about $30 a pill.Many patients say Marinol makes them sleepy. In addition, it takes up to two hours to start working. Marijuana provides almost instant relief."I have yet to meet a patient who has used both marijuana and Marinol who will say that Marinol is better or as good," says Lester Grinspoon, a Harvard psychiatrist who interviewed dozens of patients for his book, "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine."Dale Cunningham, an acquired immune deficiency syndrome patient in Virginia, agrees."I have been prescribed Marinol," says Cunningham, who is often nauseated from the 27 pills he must take daily. "I've tried Compazene. I don't know, the list goes on. But the only thing I've found that helps is natural marijuana."The debate over medical marijuana has been conventional in many ways, with conservatives on one side and liberals on the other. But there have been surprises. Some who support medical marijuana are self-described conservatives who reversed field once they became sick or met someone who was.Del. Donald E. Murphy, a Baltimore County Republican in the Maryland House of Delegates, says he never considered legalizing pot for medical use before being introduced to Darrel Putman, a former Green Beret who developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. But when Putman described how smoking marijuana had allowed him to gain the weight he needed for a vital operation, Murphy was persuaded.He promised Putman he would introduce a bill to legalize medical marijuana if Putman would testify before the General Assembly. The former soldier died before he could do so, but Murphy went ahead with the proposal anyway. Now, he finds himself defending the proposal against fellow conservatives who think he's gone soft."This is very much a conservative position," Murphy says. "You trust a person with a deadly weapon, but not with pot for cancer. It's certainly not as deadly as a firearm."Murphy's bill stalled in the legislature this year, in part because of uncertainty about how the Supreme Court would rule on the California cannabis clubs. He plans to reintroduce it next session and says a favorable Supreme Court ruling could give it a boost.In the meantime, he has recruited another patient to take Putman's place as a witness. He heard the story of Boone, the Harford County man, on a radio call-in show last year and was so moved that he asked him to appear before the General Assembly.Boone says he's an unlikely spokesman for the medical marijuana movement. Though he tried marijuana once in high school, he has always opposed drugs and used to think that medical marijuana was just an excuse for "hippies" to get high.When he became ill and got no relief from other medicine, Boone says, he changed his mind. Now, he's frustrated that a drug that helps him so much is still illegal. "I'm not a kingpin or anything," he says. "I'm just a guy with cancer." Note: Patients with AIDS, cancer press for exceptions to ban; States reforming their laws.Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Author: Thomas Healy, Sun National StaffPublished: May 4, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror Newspaper. Contact: letters baltsun.comWebsite: http://www.sunspot.net/ Related Articles:Medical Marijuana Supporters Hope To Pry Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9217.shtmlMaryland Debates Medicinal-Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8845.shtml CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by lookinside on May 04, 2001 at 19:15:27 PT:
it takes all kinds...
hmmmm...whatsa hippie? i call them other things... friendsmostly...i was looking at pictures of myself in the early'70s...i guess i might have qualified too...when kids came, i chose to play the game in order to offermy kids the opportunities available in this country...i'vealso taught them to be cynical about politicians who attemptto protect us from ourselves...i vote my conscience, and have found my views to be in theminority during most elections(prop. 215 being my favoriteexception)...i write about my feelings here because others are muchbetter informed than i am about the history of the "war ondrugs(insert americans)"thank you all for increasing my knowledge of the battle wewage...
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Comment #4 posted by Rambler on May 04, 2001 at 16:23:18 PT
Excuses...excuses!
>"....he has always opposed drugs and used to think that medical marijuana was just an excuse for "hippies" to get high."One of the wonderful things about being a Hippie,is that you dont needan "excuse",to get high......After all,,what is an "excuse" anyway?....An excuse is something a person needs to justify doing something theythink,or have been taught, is bad,or wrong.Getting stoned is only bad or wrong in the eyes of the beholder.I am proud to have hippie merit badges dating back to the late sixties.If there is such a thing as the opposite of an excuse,that's what I have .
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Comment #3 posted by observer on May 04, 2001 at 14:51:59 PT
MARIHUANA!
 "This is very much a conservative position," Murphy says. "You trust a person with a deadly weapon, but not with pot for cancer. It's certainly not as deadly as a firearm." No, no! Marihuana is the Assassin of Youth! Don't you see? It is a wicked, sinful, evil narcotic poison aimed at the hearts of Our Children! Please, please read this story of a man taken in by the menace of marihuana! * A young husband and father told me his experiences. He was innocently started down the pathway of marihuana addiction by promises of help in his battle against a physical handicap. Space permits mention of only one of the horrible experiences he passed through. It should be sufficient to convince anyone that marihuana is rightly named "The Killer Drug." Part of his story follows in his own words:"One terrible night I felt an overpowering urge creeping upon me to murder my entire family in the most brutal fashion imaginable. Sane thoughts and crazy ones all became a bewildering whirl. The urge nearly conquered me and I seemed powerless to cope with it. My very flesh was permeated with a desire for action that was motivated by some source other than my brain. Thank the Lord, I had sense enough left to awaken my wife. Together we went to the kitchen and I had her take a piece of clothesline and bind my arms behind me in a physically torturing position, and then secure me to the chair. All the long hours of the night she read to me, talked to me, while I battled for sanity. Since then I've been prey to the same thing, but not so severely. I pray that the Almighty will strike me dead rather than permit me to harm anyone in this manner. It is difficult to describe the horror that lurks in the deep recesses of my mind. There is always a fear that the dormant may become active. I wish you could help me, sir !"What pathos in this plea! Unfortunately this splendid young man is only one of many. He impressed me as a fine type of American manhood; intelligent, modest, very deeply in love with his wife and sweet little children; possessor of rare gifts as an artist; of a nervous artistic temperament; yet withal of a kindly, gentle disposition. To vision him harboring such fiendish thoughts as those described by him is to realize that he was driven beyond himself by some infernal influence. In his case it was manhuana -- the "Killer Drug." How many other cases will be traced to the same source? How many fathers, who in a moment of madness have murdered their entire families, could tell the same story as this young man? How many mothers, nerves snapping under the strain of cruel desertion or unequal responsibility, have kept up the futile battle against odds until the overwrought mind, stepped up to "high" with marihuana to whip flagging flesh and spirit into renewed effort, finally snapped and drove them to send their own children into eternity in the most cruel manner conceivable?Oh, but it is a brutal task master, this "Killer Drug" -- this "Assassin of Youth."The Moloch of Marihuana is merciless!* This young artist has been completely freed from this horrible habit which so lang held him in its grip. He accepted Christ as his personal Saviour and it was he who, out of appreciation and gratitude, pictured for me his conception of "The God Moloch of Marihuana" which forms the frontispiece of this book. [ http://dopefiends.com/images/assassin.jpg ] A careful study of the cover will reveal the fact that the addict felt very little interest is being taken in this fiendish racket by those he has pictured at the foot of the page and close to the altar of the god Moloch.ASSASSIN OF YOUTH! MARIHUANA, Robert James Devine, 1943, pgs 56-57.(cover art image from http://dopefiends.com/gallery.html )
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Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on May 04, 2001 at 13:44:30 PT:
A few things wrong, here.
"The stakes are high. If the court sides with the government, it will significantly disrupt the medical marijuana movement. Though the case involves only the right of clubs to distribute marijuana - not the right of patients to smoke it - closing the clubs would leave patients with no legitimate source.Half right, half wrong; the case deals only with the OCBC, not the whole State of California. It will not be the last word on the matter, though the antis are sincerely hoping it will set a precedent that will be construed as an excuse to throttle further efforts in other States."The dispute among the justices reflects a larger societal rift. Since rising to national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the medical use of marijuana has been vigorously debated."Only on the Internet; the cowardly antis have literally run pell-mell out of TV and radio studios to avoid ever having to face a reformer in verbal mano-a-mano. They even come here, and like poorly housebroken pets, verbally defecate what amounts to press releases and refuse to answer precise questioning of their vague statements and nebulous generalities. And then they have the temerity to think that they've scored points by doing so. Pathetic.(BTW, Joyce, Frances, Fed Regs: you still haven't answered my question: When is a law immoral? And are you morally bound to oppose such a law? I'm still waiting for you paragons of virtue to educate me.)"Most opponents don't deny that marijuana provides benefits. A study commissioned by the federal government concluded that the drug has "potential therapeutic value." But they argue that any benefits are outweighed by other considerations."Uh, excuse me, Mr. Healy, sir, but the IoM report you are referring to has been out almost three years now, and people like Joycie are still calling cannabis a 'gateway drug'. They refuse to acknowledge the very existance of this report. A report commissioned by their beloved Barry (who was forced into it through a put-up-or-shut-up move courtesy of a lawsuit). Their very selective acceptance of the facts has shot what infinitessimal credibility they possessed in the foot. Yet they continue to limp about, denying their self-inflicted injury, grimace and continue to spout their histrionics. Like I said; pathetic."Maginnis argues that the government should not run that risk until it has exhausted other options. He notes that researchers are studying ways to replicate the benefits of marijuana without the hazards. Until they succeed, he says, other medicines can help patients cope with their suffering."Yes, let Doctor Maginnis regale us with the extant of his medical knowledge vis-a-vis medicinal cannabis efficacy. And then let me ask the SOB: have you ever had to care for someone undergoing chemotherapy, Doctor Maginnis? I have, and would love to take you to the nearest cancer ward so that you can explain to the patients why they should endure the twin agonies of cancer and chemo to justify your prejudices! Why people who are suffering horribly, people whose time is running out, should be forced to wait because of your oh-so-scientific concern that all alternatives be exhausted prior to using something that's not killed a single human being in 5,000 years.As to the situation with Mr. Boone; I hate to say this, but this issue has been known for quite some time. There are literally thousands of anecdotal reports concerning the efficacy of cannabis as an anti-emetic, dating back 30 years or more.But he simply couldn't be bothered...until he rolled the dice and lost.I've said this before: the cancer rate amongst the population is rising. It used to be 1 in 4 in the 1960's; then it became 1 in 3 in the late 1970's. It's probably now 1 in 2.7 and climbing.As more people get cancer, they will not be in a position to wait for Professor Maginnis to come hobbling stiffly with his walker out of his lab in 20 years, shouting "Eureka!" They need help now!. And Maginnis and Company certainly aren't helping. And those now cancer victims who are staring both death and the viciousness of the Drugwar in the face have only themselves to blame for their support of the latter. Other people needed their help, and they were nowhere to be found. Now Mr. Boone needs help...from the very people he despised and helped oppress with his support of the DrugWar.What comes around, goes around. Indeed it does.
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Comment #1 posted by Dankhank on May 04, 2001 at 08:10:46 PT:
Kiss My Ass, Boone
So you had to be hit over the head with a large hammer to notice something that most of us figured out without the need of a cancer diagnosis.How do you sleep at night knowing that YOU contributed to the horrendous mess we are in regarding the right of ADULT Americans to choose a medicine that works?Go on and "do your thing" as we Hippies used to say ...And thank Hippies for keeping Marijuana around for the rest of your assholes to finally notice ...You're welcome .....
Hemp N Stuff
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