Pubdate: Wed, 02 Jul 2003
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2003 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195
Author: Thomas C. Mountain
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n912/a11.html

U.S. ATTORNEY HUMANE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The U.S. attorney for Hawai'i, Ed Kubo, should be applauded for his common 
sense and humanity for leaving Hawai'i's medical marijuana patients alone.

Following the arrest and conviction of Oakland, Calif., medical marijuana 
advocate Ed Rosenthal by the U.S. Justice Department, many medical 
marijuana patients here in Hawai'i were very concerned that we might be 
among the next targets. Thankfully, Ed Kubo has wisely decided to use his 
limited resources to fight the scourge of crystal meth, aka ice, instead of 
arresting Hawai'i's sick and injured for using marijuana as medicine.

Hopefully, Kubo won't be forced by his superiors in Washington, D.C., to go 
after those of us using marijuana under our doctors' care.

The value of marijuana as medicine, long known through anecdotal evidence, 
is now being established by studies in the U.K. under government license. 
Eighty percent of multiple sclerosis patients involved in the U.K. medical 
marijuana study have found marijuana to be the most effective medicine they 
have used to date, findings that support our own experiences here in Hawai'i.

While Kubo's superiors continue to threaten medical marijuana patients 
across the United States, Kubo has focused on doing the right thing: 
fighting ice, and not arresting sick and injured people for using marijuana 
as medicine.

Thomas C. Mountain, Honolulu Medical Marijuana Patients Co-Op, Kane'ohe
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