Pubdate: Sat, 11 Oct 2014
Source: News-Press (Fort Myers, FL)
Copyright: 2014 The News-Press
Contact:  http://www.news-press.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1133
Author: Michael Golding

MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS ALL ABOUT COMPASSION

I urge all opponents to re-evaluate their positions and allow passage
of Amendment 2.

Why there is so much opposition towards compassion for those for whom
medical marijuana is their only relief from pain and suffering?

Imagine that your daughter -- whose grandmother and mother both died
from breast cancer -- calls you to say she has breast cancer, that she
had tested positive for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 blood tests, that she had
been advised by her physicians that unless she had a double
mastectomy, the tests indicated the cancer would reappear no matter
what.

She then tells you that she has decided to have the procedure and
reconstruction, and, of course, will have to undergo chemotherapy for
about 16 weeks. In addition, she would require further surgery to
remove her ovaries, as there was a danger the cancer might spread.

How do you think you might feel?

The procedures go well, and then your daughter starts chemotherapy.
She is unable to tolerate the medications given to her for nausea and
pain. The side effects are so awful that she feels worse when she
takes them. Then one day, in her agony and misery, she calls you and
tells you that the ONLY thing that helps her to endure the pain,
nausea and lack of sleep is marijuana!

She continues to use marijuana throughout the remainder of the chemo
treatments, which enables her to live a life that is as close to
normal as possible. I recall that one day early in the treatments,
before she started using marijuana, she called me in so much pain:
"Dad, I just want to be me again."

Now, having read the above, multiply my daughter's story by millions
of sufferers, not only with cancer but also with a myriad of
pain-filled diseases. Ask yourself how it is possible that so many
people are against the legalization of a natural product because of
old-fashioned prejudices, and with that opposition are ready to deny
sufferers in agony with some relief.

Compassion: "A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is 
stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate 
the suffering."

In Florida, we show compassion towards so many, we support so many
worthy charities; we care about our friends and neighbors when they
are sick or out of work. So, I wonder why there is so much opposition
towards compassion for those for whom medical marijuana is their only
relief from pain and suffering.

I am compelled to ask opponents why they support or accept the
presence within our society of tobacco and alcohol, both legal,
regulated, taxed and -- killers!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
cigarette smoking is estimated to cause more than 480,000 deaths
annually. Excessive alcohol use is also a leading cause of preventable
death. This dangerous behavior accounted for approximately 88,000
deaths per year from 2006 to 2010, and 1 in 10 deaths among adults 20
to 64 years of age. In addition, driving under the influence incidents
(DUIs) cause a huge number of personal injuries.

Marijuana mortality? Epidemiological data indicate that in the general
population, marijuana use is not associated with increased mortality.

So, I wonder why so many can accept the above figures with equanimity,
while opposing the use of a natural painkiller. I urge all opponents
to re-evaluate their positions and allow passage of Amendment 2. Please!

If readers are wondering, my daughter has been cancer-free for two
years.

- -- Michael Golding lives in Fort Myers.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard