Pubdate: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 Source: Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) Copyright: 2008 Kalamazoo Gazette Contact: http://www.mlive.com/kzgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/588 Author: Joseph K. Andonian BALLOT BOX IS NOT THE WAY TO APPROVE MEDICINES Putting medical use of marijuana on the ballot for a public vote is both bad medicine and bad public policy. Voting to permit such use is even worse. We require every other medicine to go through safety and efficacy testing before approval for use. How can we exempt marijuana from such testing? Some supporters believe their own experience is proof enough that it relieves pain but there is plenty of evidence that even a placebo can relieve pain in some people. The difference between marijuana and a placebo is we have better evidence about the harmful effects of marijuana than we do about its potentially beneficial effects. Some believe it should get a free pass because it's a natural product but it's natural only as a plant, not as a natural participant in the process of relieving pain. Do we seriously want to abandon the progress we have made in medical science in favor of the ballot box as the standard for choosing our medicines? Joseph K. Andonian Portage - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake