Pubdate: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA) Copyright: 2001 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Contact: http://www.telegram.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509 SMOKESCREEN Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there is no exception in federal law that would allow people suffering from serious illnesses to use illegal drugs, advocates of so-called "medical marijuana" should turn their attention toward development of a pharmaceutical form of the drug. Advocates claim smoking marijuana can ease side effects from chemotherapy, alleviate nausea in AIDS patients and give multiple sclerosis sufferers greater mobility. However, there is no definitive medical evidence of the drug's supposed curative effects. And while a marijuana buzz might mask symptoms, it is not demonstrably better than, or even as effective as conventional, legal treatments. More to the point, the debate about possible medical uses for marijuana has always been largely a smokescreen sent up by advocates of legalization of pot and other drugs for recreational use. That said, the cannabis plant itself may have pharmaceutical applications. Researchers at UMass-Memorial Medical Center have derived a chemical from marijuana that may have therapeutic value without pot's psychotropic properties. The drug seems to have no ill effects, but its medicinal value has yet to be established. If the goal of medical marijuana advocates is to help people with debilitating diseases, rather than to promote recreational drug use, they should lobby for the development of a legal marijuana derivative. Uncontrolled private distribution of the illegal form of the drug is not good medicine, good science or good law. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth