Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jun 2005
Source: Herald News (NJ)
Copyright: 2005 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.northjersey.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2911
Author: Jessica Adler
Cited: Gonzales v. Raich ( www.angeljustice.org/ )
Cited: Drug Policy Alliance ( www.drugpolicy.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

ONE MAN'S TRAGEDY SHOWS WHY SENATOR INTRODUCED BILL

Sean McGrath was 28 years old when he died. He would have been
younger, his family says, had he not smoked marijuana for much of his
two-year battle with biliary cancer, the illness that ravaged his
digestive system and eventually killed him.

"Unless he was sleeping, he was nauseous," says Jessica Shapiro,
Sean's fiancee, who began dating him shortly after the two graduated
from high school in Hamilton.

Within four months of Sean's diagnosis, his weight had spiraled down
to 98 pounds, about 60 pounds underweight for his 5'11" frame. Even if
Sean did manage to ingest food and his pills - appetite stimulants,
painkillers and anti-nausea medication - he would usually vomit them
back up.

Heeding the advice of friends and family who suggested that marijuana
might help, Sean discovered that taking a couple of puffs of pot
before eating or taking pills countered his constant gagging and
vomiting. Within months, his weight rose to 128 pounds. By using the
one drug that provided relief, Sean was prolonging his life, says his
father, Don McGrath.

He was also breaking the law.

"It was an insult that he was forced to be a criminal because of his
illness," says his father.

State Sen. Nicholas P. Scutari, D-Union, couldn't agree more. That's
why, earlier this year, he introduced Senate Bill No. 2200, "New
Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act." And it's why he
stands by his bill, even after last week's Supreme Court ruling that
federal officials could arrest marijuana users like Sean McGrath.

S2200 would protect from state and local prosecution patients
diagnosed by a physician to have a debilitating illness, including
cancer and HIV/AIDS, who register to use marijuana for medical
purposes through the Department of Health and Senior Services. Ten
states, including California, Colorado, Montana, Maine and Vermont,
have passed similar laws. Whether that is a good or a bad thing - and
whether New Jersey should pursue such a law - depends on whom you ask.

"We're not saying that we're trying to legalize drugs," Scutari says.
"We're trying to legalize them for a specific purpose, which would be
for people who are suffering from debilitating illnesses. I say to
critics, why wouldn't we try this?" John Coleman, director of the
International Drug Strategy Institute, a division of Drug Watch
International, and a retired assistant administrator of the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), has at least one reason.

"Because there's no objective evidence that there's any serious
benefit in this drug," he said, adding that individual stories like
Sean McGrath's equate to "anecdotal evidence."

In 1999, the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) released a report on the
value of marijuana, widely viewed as the most comprehensive to date.
"Scientific data," the report concluded, "indicate the potential
therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain
relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation;
smoked marijuana, however, is a crude THC delivery system that also
delivers harmful substances."

IOM is a non-profit policy organization that uses committees of
volunteer scientists - leading national and international experts - to
report on matters of biomedical science, medicine and health.

That conclusion means different things to different people. Advocates
of S2200 and other state medical marijuana laws say the IOM report
equates to an official acknowledgement of marijuana's therapeutic
value. Those opposed to marijuana legalization say the report shows
that further research into marijuana delivery systems is necessary
before moving forward with any legislation.

According to a report from the Department of Justice (DOJ), "Say it
Straight: the Medical Myths of Marijuana:" "Marijuana is an unstable
mixture of more than 425 chemicals that convert to thousands when
smoked. Many of these chemicals are toxic, psychoactive chemicals
which are largely unstudied and appear in uncontrolled strengths."

The first time Sean McGrath tried pot, it was baked inside a homemade
brownie - but he was too sick to eat it. Smoking marijuana was the
only way he could get the drug into his system. His fiancee, Jessica
Shapiro, isn't compelled by arguments about the harmful effects of
smoked marijuana when it comes to patients like Sean.

"It's all so absurd," she said. "He was filled with
cancer."

Beyond concerns about marijuana's potential harmful effects, critics
of S2200 worry that legalization for the sick will open the floodgates
to recreational pot-smoking among youth. Plus, they argue, states
overextend their rights with such laws, and effectively undermine
federal prohibition of marijuana.

In essence, that was the issue at hand in the recent Supreme Court
decision stipulating that, even in states where certain marijuana-
users are protected from local and state prosecution, they might still
be prosecuted under federal law, which labels marijuana a "Schedule 1"
drug, one with no medicinal value.

Even as advocacy groups support state medical marijuana laws, some set
their sights on Congress. There, they hope marijuana will be
reclassified as a Schedule 2 drug, along with medications such as
morphine and oxycontin, which can be prescribed by a doctor.

A bill pending in Congress would provide for that reclassification,
though it's widely believed that there is little chance of it passing,
especially given the Supreme Court decision. If Congress did
eventually pass such a bill, it would mean that states with
legislation like S2200 on the books would no longer be in
contradiction of federal law.

Thus far, however, that contradiction has been more symbolic than
practical.

The DEA, the federal entity responsible for drug-related prosecution
doesn't primarily target people like Sean McGrath. Although the DEA
rejects the term "medical marijuana," stating that the drug's
therapeutic value has not been scientifically substantiated, "We
target organizations," says William Grant, public affairs specialist
for the DEA in Washington, D.C., adding, "Our mission statement is not
going to change."

Pointing out that marijuana arrests account for 45 percent of the 1.5
million drug arrests annually, some advocates of medical marijuana
argue that government organizations such as the DOJ and the DEA fight
legalization because of the impact it might have on "War on Drugs"
statistics.

But according to Grant, of the DEA, "We're not an arrest-driven
organization. Our mission is to disrupt and dismantle organizations
and take away their means - which is their money and their property -
so they can't distribute any narcotics."

In spite of the Supreme Court ruling, advocates of S2200 press
forward, arguing that marijuana is less harmful and addictive than
some prescription drugs. Patients and doctors, they say, should have
control over personal health care choices.

"It's a matter of compassion and allowing doctors and patients to have
the best possible medical options they can have," says Roseanne
Scotti, Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, New Jersey. "If the
doctor thinks that medical marijuana would be medically appropriate
for someone, it's a matter of letting the state get out of the way and
letting the doctor do their job."

Advocates point out that a number of medical organizations support
some form of physician-supervised access to the drug for medicinal
purposes, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the
American Nurses Association and the American Public Health
Association.

"If we were talking about any drug other than cannabis (marijuana), we
wouldn't be having this discussion," says Paul Armentano, senior
policy analyst for the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML), a non-profit advocacy group that supports
universal legalization of pot. "This is a drug that has been studied
to death, it's medical value has been studied to death, and yet we're
having this discussion because there is a cultural stigma associated
with marijuana among some individuals in America - primarily
politicians - who have the ability to outlaw this substance."

But the public has sent a clear message to its legislators. A CNN/
Time poll published in October 2002 found that 80 percent of Americans
believe that adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for
medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it. That's on par with
polls taken over the last decade, which have consistently shown
between 55 percent and 85 percent support for legal access to
marijuana for so-called medicinal purposes.

When it comes down to the ground level, for Sean McGrath, smoking pot
wasn't about opinion polls or the contradiction between state and
federal laws. For Sean, "this wasn't a political thing," says Jessica
Shaprio. "His attitude was, 'I'm really sick and this makes me feel
better.' He felt extremely practical about it. And mad that it wasn't
allowed. Because it worked." 
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