Pubdate: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 Source: State Journal-Register (IL) Copyright: 2011 Catherine Coonrod Contact: http://service.sj-r.com/forms/letters.asp Website: http://www.sj-r.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/425 Author: Catherine Coonrod MARIJUANA ISSUE NOT A VOTING PROPOSITION Whether to call a substance "medicine" is not the role of the Illinois General Assembly - or any other legislature, for that matter. What in the world do our politicians really know about the efficacy of substances? Not much, I'm willing to bet. So, their current debates about whether to legalize "medical marijuana" amount to little more than political arrogance. In this nation, we don't take popular votes to determine what is and is not medicine. And no hospital or reputable medical association - including the American Medical Association in Chicago and the American Academy of Pediatrics in Elk Grove Village - recommends that people smoke anything as a part of responsible medical treatment. Let's wait for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has decades of experience monitoring the development of medication, to do its job. A medication called Sativex is an oral spray composed of two compounds found in marijuana. It's already available in Canada and parts of Europe and is undergoing final testing for approval here in the United States. When this medicine is available, there certainly won't be any need for "medical marijuana." Catherine Coonrod Carlinville - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D