cannabisnews.com: When Marijuana is Medicine When Marijuana is Medicine Posted by FoM on May 22, 2001 at 14:02:40 PT By Jill Labbe, Fort Worth Star Telegram Source: Tallahassee Democrat Daring to raise the issue of decriminalizing the possession of marijuana used to be a third rail of American politics: touch it and die. But encouraging signs are emerging from various quarters showing that public attitudes may be changing, at least when it comes to the use of marijuana to relieve the debilitating side effects of some diseases.At first blush, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week to prohibit a "medical necessity" defense for distributors of medical marijuana was a crushing blow to the suffering Americans who find comfort in smoking this all-natural reliever. But the unanimous decision wasn't the knee-capper that it first appeared to be.The court's 8-0 ruling (Justice Stephen Breyer didn't weigh in because his brother was the trial judge in the case) applies only to federal law and was focused almost exclusively on distribution issues. The case did not venture into the realm of a state's prerogative to allow patients to use medical marijuana with a doctor's approval.Considering that almost 99 percent of marijuana arrests in this country are made by state and local police, how states approach this issue has far greater real-world impact on Americans than what the feds may or may not do.Eight states and the District of Columbia have already enacted laws that remove criminal penalties for patients who grow, use and possess medical marijuana with their doctor's approval. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington made the enlightened and compassionate change as a result of voter initiatives.The national debate over the decriminalization of medical marijuana is far from over. In some circles, it hasn't even begun because certain mentally time-warped politicians are too frightened to even broach the subject for fear of being viewed as radical-fringe.It won't help the effort to bring a humane voice to this debate now that John P. Walters has been tapped to be the national drug czar. Walters has publicly aired Neanderthal views on the potential medicinal uses of marijuana.Maybe Walters has changed his tune to one less harsh in light of the study released in 1999 by the prestigious Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences. The report said that the compounds found in marijuana do have medicinal applications and are effective, for example, in the treatment of side effects from chemotherapy.Medical marijuana isn't going to save anyone's life. It isn't going to kill anyone, either. But it can provide relief, albeit temporary, to people who are struggling to maintain some quality in their lives during their last days.Opponents of the decriminalization of medical marijuana love to trot out the cliche "slippery slope" when cautioning against the idea. If we approve this, they warn, the next thing you know teens will be able to purchase cocaine over the counter.Criminey. In reality, it's been a strenuous uphill push to raise the issue to reasoned debate. Can we please drop the hyperbole?What are lawmakers afraid of? That terminally ill cancer patients will develop a smoker's hack? That someone with full-blown AIDS will become addicted? That it will be a gateway drug to harder stuff? God love them, they're dying what can be horrifically painful deaths. If marijuana helps relieve the nausea that stops them from keeping potentially life-prolonging drugs in their stomachs until they dissolve into the bloodstream, let them light up.No one with a sliver of compassion would wish a disease as devastating as AIDS on another human being. But periodically, for just nanoseconds of time, one wonders how members of Congress and the various state legislatures might react if a family member or close friend were stricken with an illness with symptoms that could be alleviated by medical marijuana.Jill Labbe is a senior editorial writer and columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)Author: Jill LabbePublished: Tuesday, May 22, 2001Copyright: 2001 Tallahassee DemocratContact: tdedit taldem.comWebsite: http://www.tdo.com/Related Articles:Beliefs Can Change in a Puff of Smoke http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9829.shtmlMedical Marijuana And The Folly Of The Drug War http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9827.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=medical+marijuana Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by Grog on May 25, 2001 at 03:34:30 PT: Medical Medicine I think we should enlist the formidable clout of the insurance and HMO industries in our efforts....I feel that, if presented with a graphic depiction of the monies to be saved by being able to prescribe and utilize cannabis in their clinics, their greed will compel them to lobby their pals to pass intelligent laws..... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by m segesta on May 23, 2001 at 09:29:13 PT: This piece made my day...... especially this:"No one with a sliver of compassion would wish a disease as devastating as AIDS on another human being. But periodically, for just nanoseconds of time, one wonders how members of Congress and the various state legislatures might react if a family member or close friend were stricken with an illness with symptoms that could be alleviated by medical marijuana."Need we wonder after reading the Nofzinger piece on the summary page of today's C-News?msegesta [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Morgan on May 22, 2001 at 15:21:25 PT What are they afraid of? They are afraid that if they support Medical Marijuana, their campaign contributions from big oil, plastics, pharmaceuticals, cotton, alcohol, and all the rest will be cut off, making them virtually unelectable._________________________________________________________ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: