Pubdate: Tue, 11 Mar 2014
Source: Republican & Herald (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Pottsville Republican, Inc
Contact:  http://republicanherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1047

MEDICINAL POT USE SHOULD BE LEGAL IN STATE

Marijuana has held an odd place in American culture, especially since
the federal government specifically outlawed it in 1937.

That followed the release of the 1936 movie, "Reefer Madness," which
today is widely lampooned for its over-the-top depictions of pot's
addictiveness and effects on smokers, along with its warnings about
other evils - especially jazz.

Marijuana's reputation always has exceeded its actual danger, as noted
in a recent column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by longtime forensic
pathologist Cyril Wecht. He said he had seen many cases in which
legally prescribed narcotics had played a role, but never one in which
marijuana was the cause of death.

In recent years many state governments have taken a much more rational
approach to marijuana. Only two states, Colorado and Washington, have
legalized marijuana for casual use. But 20 states and the District of
Columbia have approved it for medical use.

Marijuana is prescribed in those areas for an array of conditions
ranging from latestage cancer to several neurological degenerative
diseases and epilepsy.

Every day in every community, doctors prescribe drugs for patients
that, if misused, are far more dangerous than marijuana. That medical
professionals may prescribe those drugs but are precluded by law by
prescribing marijuana to help suffering patients is irrational.

State Sen. Mike Folmer, a Lebanon County Republican, has introduced a
bill to legalize medicinal marijuana use in Pennsylvania, joining
long-time advocate Sen. Daylin Leach, a Delaware County Democrat.

Most Pennsylvanians get it. A recent Quinnipiac University poll, with
just a 2.6 percent margin of error, found that a whopping 85 percent
approve of physician-prescribed medicinal marijuana.

The Legislature should not act on polls alone, but that public view
also is supported by science and a clear need. The true reefer madness
would be to deny the substance to patients whose suffering it could
alleviate.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D