Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jul 2011 Source: Telegraph, The (Nashua, NH) Copyright: 2011 Telegraph Publishing Company Contact: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/885 Author: Donald Wright MEDICAL MARIJUANA NEEDED FOR PATIENTS LIVING IN PAIN I am writing this in the hopes that I can get some folks to understand more about a bill that was passed by the N.H. House this past spring by a margin of 221-96. House Bill 442 would allow seriously ill patients access to medical cannabis. I am in favor of this bill for several reasons. The right of a patient to unfettered and unrestricted access to the prescriptive advice from their physician is an "unalienable" right. My wife has endured 17 years of treatments for breast cancer and currently is undergoing a therapy that causes her to be constantly nauseous. Her doctor would prescribe cannabis for her as a viable and well-known cure for the side effects of chemotherapy if allowed. The quality of life for people in pain or with serious illness is a freedom that cannot be measured and should be the basis for considering this bill. It can mean the difference between life and death or a life to a patient that cannot withstand the regimens of treatments for terminal or serious ailments. For others, it can mean relief from pain caused by permanent disabilities. For all of us, it means that our trust in our physician's advice is not regulated by the state or federal governments. HB 442 medical marijuana is the strictest bill brought forth in any of the states that have passed similar legislation and would pass any reasonable person's legitimate test. Please send a message to your N.H. senator asking them to vote on this bill by signing my petition at Change.org and search for NH HB 442. Donald Wright Tuftonboro - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart