cannabisnews.com: Medicinal Marijuana Has Its Drawbacks
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Medicinal Marijuana Has Its Drawbacks
Posted by CN Staff on April 16, 2009 at 10:24:01 PT
By Leila Noelliste
Source: Daily Journal
Illinois -- While the Illinois Senate debates Bill 1381, which would allow patients with debilitating illnesses to legally possess medicinal marijuana, at least one law enforcement official said it's a bad idea.Bob Bodemer, director of local drug enforcement agency Kankakee Area Metrpolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG), said the bill could turn patients into targets and dealers.
"If someone has very good (marijuana) plants, they could be susceptible to be a victim. And if you're talking about patients who are chronically ill or need them for pain management, they're a more vulnerable segment of the society. Now they're even more vulnerable not just because of their medical condition, but because they have access to marijuana. It's just like with prescription medication that people steal from family members, or other elderly people in the neighborhood," said Bodemer.The other scenario, he added, is patients who "make money selling their prescription drug." He noted that seven plants can create up to 1,764 grams of marijuana, or 3,528 joints.Bodemer also noted that marijuana plants have varying degrees of potency, so there is no way to subscribe a standard dosage. Marinol Versus Marijuana  Many anti-medical marijuana activists are proposing the use of Marinol, an FDA approved drug produced in pill-form, that contains a synthetic version of THC -- the substance in marijuana credited with stimulating appetite, and reducing nausea and vomiting."I'm not against providing a level of care and pain management for terminally ill people," Bodemer said. "But there's already a drug approved by the FDA that has THC."But Marinol has its downsides, said Kamy Akhavan, managing editor of Procon.org, a nonpartisan charity that researches the pros and cons of controversial issues."Marinol is swallowed as a pill, and sometimes the people who are using marijuana for medical utility, they're using it to treat nausea. If a person has nausea, the last thing they want to do is take a pill because they can't keep it down," said Akhavan. "When you smoke something it is absorbed into the bloodstream within seconds. When you take a pill it will take dozens of minutes to be metabolized by the body and absorbed into the bloodstream."But he acknowledged that without FDA approval, marijuana is regarded by the federal government as having no medicinal value. Politics Versus Medicine?   But some believe those federal standards need to change.Medicinal marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access recently appeared before a federal appeals panel and demanded that the government stop spreading "false information" about marijuana.The group argued that the federal government needs to update its assessment to conform with the reality of broadening legal use as a pain-salver."The science to support medical marijuana is overwhelming," said Steph Sherer, director of ASA. "It's time for the federal government to acknowledge the efficacy of medical marijuana and stop holding science hostage to politics."The Los Angeles Times and MSN.com contributed to this report.Source: Daily Journal, The (IL)Author: Leila NoellistePublished: April 16, 2009Copyright: 2009 The Daily Journal Publishing Co., L.L.C.Contact: editorial daily-journal.comWebsite: http://www.daily-journal.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/C7p6lVIORelated Articles:Health Issues of Marijuana Debatedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24710.shtmlPoliticians, Doctors Conflicted Over Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24679.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on April 16, 2009 at 16:47:20 PT
DOWN WITH POLICE
When police and their groups come out against cannabis using discredited nonsense, prohibitionist propaganda and hidden job security for an excuse to discriminate against citizens for using cannabis medically or recreationally,I lose respect for them.It is the number one reason I have almost no respect for police types.-0-In the past there was an effort for police to improve public relations;what ever happened to that?-0-If police opposition to cannabis can be proven to contribute strongly to a national lack of respect for them,they should be made aware of it.-0-Their public relations people should be made aware of what cannabis opposition is doing to their organization.DOWN WITH POLICE
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Comment #2 posted by Vincent on April 16, 2009 at 14:24:02 PT:
DEA lowlifes
So, Bob Bodemer of the Duh E.A is against Medical Marijuana, eh? What do you expect? The DEA are a bunch of animals. They remind me of that character in "The Manchurian Candidate". When Angela Lansbury makes him play Solitaire, and he deals out a Queen of Diamonds, he becomes a robot, ready to kill. Just like a DEA agent. 
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Comment #1 posted by josephlacerenza on April 16, 2009 at 10:52:23 PT
It Just Seems to Me
That these LEO's spout out what ever comes to mind and expect us to believe what they say just because of their job/title. Marinol has non of the other cannabinoids in its mixture. If cannabis, and its 61 cannabinoids, have no medical value how can the FDA approve the use of one of marijuana's cannabinoids as an FDA approved drug. I would think that they, the FDA, were then approving a drug with no medical value, by their own omission. How can this war on cannabis continue with such a blatant attempt, by the powers that be, to speak out of both orifices at once!! It smells no matter which end it comes from!!!FREE CANNABIS FOR US AND THE PLANET!! 
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