Pubdate: Thu, 03 Nov 2005
Source: GW Hatchet (George Washington U, DC Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The GW Hatchet
Contact:  http://www.gwhatchet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/757
Author: David Pribulka
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1681/a01.html

THE TRUTH ABOUT THC

This letter is in response to last Thursday's article featuring GW 
NORML and particularly the comments of our fearless leader, President 
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg ("Group pushes for GW to change marijuana 
policy," Oct. 27, p. 1).

Trachtenberg, despite having written an article for a journal in 1972 
as a proponent of marijuana decriminalization, stated that he changed 
his stance on the matter because later studies showed that marijuana 
has more harmful effects than he was aware of at the time. More 
harmful? That's odd. The studies that I've read about suggest the 
exact opposite.

In fact, in 1982, the California Research Advisory Panel found that 
marijuana is effective in relieving nausea and vomiting in 
chemotherapy patients, and that a safe dosage to minimize undesirable 
side effects had been tested. They reported a 78.9 percent 
effectiveness rating among chemotherapy patients. Was this study a 
fluke? Maybe. But the panel reviewed their data through 1989, and 
reported the same results.

Another article published in October 1988, in The New York Journal of 
Medicine, reported the same success rate in chemotherapy patients, 
and went on to include that no serious negative side effects were present.

There is a wealth of information on the subject available. It's up to 
all of us, including you, Mr. Trachtenberg, to start making realistic 
decisions about the benefits and risks of marijuana. Sure, it's a 
touchy subject. But many people, including myself, have realized that 
it must be exposed to protect our civil rights.

- -David Pribulka, sophomore 
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman