Pubdate: Sat, 06 Feb 2016 Source: Wichita Eagle (KS) Copyright: 2016 The Wichita Eagle Contact: http://www.kansas.com/604 Website: http://www.kansas.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/680 Author: Mike Mawhirter Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n066/a03.html Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n066/a04.html REALLY THAT BENEFICIAL? Regarding "God-given plant" and "Medical benefits" (Feb. 3 Letters to the Editor): I'm not sure that medical cannabis has all the healing properties mentioned. At best, it probably is a symptomatic reliever for most mentioned ailments. I feel that if it were as beneficial as some think, the medical arts would have been using it for a long time, as they have cocaine and other narcotics. As for not causing any deaths medically for 5,000 years: I know of nothing that can make that claim, much less cannabis. It may be a God-given plant, but so is poison ivy, and I think I'll not smoke that anytime soon. Mike Mawhirter, Derby - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom