Pubdate: Wed, 17 Oct 2007
Source: Corvallis Gazette-Times (OR)
Copyright: 2007 Lee Enterprises
Contact: http://www.mvonline.com/support/contact/gtletter.html
Website: http://www.gazettetimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2976
Author: Theresa Hogue
Cited: Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse http://www.mamas.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

MAMAS REACH OUT

Twenty-five years ago, in a cabin in Mosier, Sandee Burbank and a 
group of other mothers began talking about the futures they wanted 
for their children.

The discussion grew into a group called Mothers Against Misuse and 
Abuse (MAMA), a nonprofit organization whose members travel the 
state, hoping to educate Oregonians about what they say are the 
dangers of some widely used legal drugs and the misconceptions about 
some illegal drugs.

Burbank was joined by Alice Ivany and Jack Thomas on Tuesday 
afternoon at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library to discuss 
the group's approach to drug education, and to talk about the 
benefits of medical marijuana use.

As more and more federal money is being focused on hardcore illegal 
drugs, including methamphetamine, less is being targeted toward 
treatment of alcohol, which is a far more deadly drug, Burbank said. 
Nationally, 101,000 people per year die from alcohol abuse, while 
17,000 die from all illegal drugs combined, she said.

"The issues in our family are with legal drugs," said Burbank, who 
had an uncle die of alcohol abuse and other relatives die from tobacco use.

MAMA works to avoid the fear-based approach of many drug prevention 
programs and focus on education and facts, Burbank said.

"We wanted some kind of different approach to teach our children and 
ourselves," she said.

Some drugs, such as marijuana, are demonized even though they have 
proven health benefits and a better safety record than some legal 
drugs, Burbank said.

Thomas and Ivany are both legal medical marijuana users, and talked 
about how they only came to use cannabis when their other options ran out.

Thomas said he suffered from severe nerve damage and intense pain, 
and years of ibuprofen use ended up destroying his stomach. Vioxx 
worked but was pulled of the market for safety issues, and Thomas 
said he was left with one viable choice, cannabis.

"I'm 57 and I still have to work," Thomas said. "I have such intense 
pain that I have chronic muscle spasms, so I do tinctures or tokes, 
it's gone and then I go back to work."

Ivany said that although her doctor recommended cannabis to treat 
pain, she was hesitant to use it because of the stigma involved.

"It was embarrassing to be reduced to cannabis," she said. "But it's 
not about getting high or stoned. It's an herbal treatment."

For more information, go to http://mamas.org 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake