It's Not As Far-Fetched As It Sounds, but Some Enthusiasts May Be Going Too Far. In his 1971 State of the Union speech, President Richard Nixon declared war on cancer, prompting passage of the National Cancer Act, aimed at making the "conquest of cancer a national crusade." Just four years later, scientists from the National Cancer Institute published a study demonstrating that a group of compounds taken from a common, widely cultivated plant shrank lung tumors that had been implanted in mice, extending their survival. [continues 2174 words]
In her Dec. 3 column, "Off the Deep End -- The dangerous side of marijuana," Katy Sweeny makes the common mistake of blaming marijuana for the problems caused by its prohibition. The violence and environmental damage she describes exist solely because marijuana is illegal. As an agricultural product, marijuana is not unusual. But because we don't allow legitimate farmers to grow it, the business is left to unregulated criminals who obey no labor, safety or environmental laws, answer to no one and whose imperative is to get in, get their crop and get out before the police find them. There's a reason, after all, we don't hear of Mexican wine cartels planting cabernet sauvignon in remote areas. [continues 85 words]
LAST Thursday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley announced a sweeping new plan to boost the profits of Mexican drug cartels, a plan almost certain to increase the slaughter these vicious gangs are perpetrating on both sides of the U.S. - Mexico border. Of course, Cooley didn't call it that. He claimed, on dubious legal grounds, that all medical marijuana dispensaries in the county are illegal and announced plans to crack down on them. While no one denies that L.A.'s attempts - or, more accurately, nonattempts - to regulate these operations have been a mess, Cooley's crackdown is guaranteed to make a bad situation worse. [continues 574 words]
In a piece published [1] here last week, Rachel Ehrenfeld reports with dismay that the National Institute on Drug Abuse is presently soliciting proposals from contractors to grow marijuana for research and other purposes. Unfortunately, Ehrenfeld's misunderstanding of this request for proposals is so monumental that one doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. Ehrenfeld suggests that this is some sinister part of "ObamaCare." "For the first time," she writes, "the government is soliciting organizations that can grow marijuana on a 'large scale,' with the capability to 'prepare marijuana cigarettes and related products ... distribute marijuana, marijuana cigarettes and cannabinoids, and other related products' not only for research, but also for 'other government programs.'" [continues 799 words]
New Study Finds That Marijuana Smokers Have a Lower Risk of Head and Neck Cancers. Among the more interesting pieces of news that came out while I was on vacation the first half of August was a new study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, which found that marijuana smokers have a lower risk of head and neck cancers than people who don't smoke marijuana. Alas, this important research has been largely ignored by the news media. While this type of study cannot conclusively prove cause and effect, the combination of this new study and existing research -- which for decades has shown that cannabinoids are fairly potent anticancer drugs -- raises a significant possibility that marijuana use is in fact protective against certain types of cancer. [continues 251 words]
Pot Has Lots of Medicinal and Financial Benefits, But TV Stations Still Dare Not Say Its Name Earlier this month, the organization I work for, the Marijuana Policy Project, inadvertently stirred up a hornet's nest with what we thought was a pretty straightforward TV commercial. That our modest little ad proved too hot to handle for such Los Angeles-area stations as KNBC, KABC, KTLA, KTTV and KCOP (plus a couple stations in San Francisco) says more about socially acceptable attitudes regarding marijuana than about the ad (or the drug) itself. [continues 669 words]
Congressman Mark Kirk, a Republican from Highland Park, recently introduced legislation to massively increase penalties for producers and sellers of higher-potency marijuana. It's hard to know what's worse, the congressman's scientific ignorance or his blatant hypocrisy. Kirk said he thought the penalty for selling high-THC marijuana should be equivalent to that for cocaine. From a scientific perspective, that's laughable. Unlike cocaine, THC is essentially non-toxic. It is literally impossible to fatally overdose on even the highest-strength marijuana. And scientific experts remain unconvinced that higher-THC marijuana is any more dangerous. [continues 212 words]
Countries such as Israel, Canada and the Netherlands all have national medical marijuana programs. Israel's has some 700 patients enrolled and expects that number to reach 1,200 in September. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the program has widespread acceptance, with the chief of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital noting that marijuana "stimulates the appetite and minimizes nausea and vomiting, which is of great importance in Oncology. It also has anti-inflammatory properties, which helps in cases of infection or inflammation caused by radiation." It's time for the U.S. to catch up. [end]
Police chief Darryl Perry certainly has a right to his opinions about marijuana, but he needs get acquainted with the facts. ("On the Beat No. 29," The Garden Island, June 7). He writes, "Drugs destroy families, whether it's marijuana, crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, or alcohol." In fact, scientific research shows it's not nearly that simple. All drugs don't have the same effects. For example, compared to marijuana, alcohol is more addictive, vastly more toxic, and overwhelmingly more likely to cause users to become aggressive or violent when intoxicated. [continues 123 words]
Madison County Sheriff Robert Hertz inadvertently summed up the bankruptcy of medical marijuana opponents' arguments ("Sides split over medical marijuana bill," 5/31). Hertz says, "I'm dead against it. What's next? Cocaine? Meth?" Could he be unaware that both cocaine and methamphetamine are legal medicines today? That's right: Coke and meth are classed in Schedule II of the federal Controlled Substances Act, allowing medical use. Cocaine is used mainly in liquid form as a local anesthetic, while methamphetamine pills are available by prescription. And no one seriously believes that medical use has the slightest impact on abuse of either drug. But right now, our laws treat coke and meth as less dangerous than marijuana. Given marijuana's well-documented medical efficacy and safety (fatal overdoses are literally impossible), that is simply insane. Bruce Mirken Marijuana Policy Project Washington, D.C. [end]
The Monitor asserts that "activists claim that it may ease symptoms for certain patients - though it has not been endorsed by the major medical associations representing those patients." Not true. Here are two of many examples: In 2003, the American Academy of HIV Medicine stated that, "When appropriately prescribed and monitored, marijuana/cannabis can provide immeasurable benefits for the health and well-being of our patients." And in 2008, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society said that it "supports legislation to remove criminal and civil sanctions for the doctor-advised, medical use of marijuana by patients with serious physical medical conditions." Bruce Mirken Director of communications, Marijuana Policy Project San Francisco [end]
It is indeed heartening that the Supreme Court, by declining to hear San Diego County's absurd attempt to overturn California's medical marijuana laws, chose not to trample on the right of states to establish small outposts of sanity in marijuana policy ("State's rights affirmed," May 21). But the Appeal-Democrat is right: We need more than baby steps. Scientifically, the case for medical marijuana has been a no-brainer for years. It's long past time for federal law to recognize this, and let patients who need medical marijuana anywhere in the U.S. have access to it [continues 107 words]
Joe Brown does a service by raising the issue of whether to end marijuana prohibition ("Debate rages on legalization of pot," 5/20). But he frames the debate in a way that misstates the actual choice. Mr. Brown writes, "What do you readers think: A balanced budget or opening up the flood gates to wider use of the weed Cannabis?" But the assumption that regulating and taxing marijuana like alcohol (which is what reformers actually propose) would lead to an explosion in use is not backed up by the data. [continues 127 words]
Record columnist Michael Fitzgerald is right to question the sense of marijuana prohibition, given that marijuana is manifestly safer than alcohol. All prohibition has accomplished is to hand over the bulk of a very lucrative business to an unsavory collection of criminals, gangs and drug cartels ("Marijuana prohibitionists are just blowing smoke," May 8). And he's probably right that much of the support for prohibition is a hangover from culture wars of previous decades. But it's important to note that a great many conservatives - the folks who really do believe in small government - have long questioned the prohibition of marijuana. For example, the late, Nobel Prize-winning conservative economist Milton Friedman was a staunch opponent of prohibition. Friedman, a lifetime member of the Marijuana Policy Project, wrote the following to then-Drug Czar William Bennett in 1989: [continues 91 words]
Editor: The Sun-Star is right: It's time for a serious discussion of whether marijuana prohibition makes any sense (editorial, Tuesday). Our current laws give us the worst of all possible worlds: A drug that's widely used and almost universally available, but without any of the common-sense controls that legal regulation allows us to apply to alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana is California's top cash crop. Isn't it time we brought it out of the shadows and under reasonable controls? [continues 58 words]
The Chronicle's editorial "Where there's smoke, there's revenue?" (Friday) gets a major point wrong: Marijuana is not "no worse than alcohol." By any objective measure, marijuana is a far safer substance. Marijuana is much less addictive than alcohol - with a dependence rate of only 9 percent compared to 15 percent for booze (and 32 percent for cigarettes). And it's massively less toxic. Every year, sadly, people die of alcohol poisoning due to binge drinking, while there has never been a medically documented marijuana-overdose death. Long-term heavy alcohol use does gross, easily visible damage to the brain and liver - so obvious you don't need a microscope to see it. Marijuana does nothing of the sort. [continues 71 words]
Editor, The News: Dr. William Marrone's ignorance regarding medical marijuana is appalling ("First pot cards OK'd," April 24). His claim that "there is nothing in marijuana that is not available in other medications" is plain false. Marijuana contains more than 70 unique compounds called cannabinoids, several of which have been shown to provide medical benefit above and beyond the effects of THC, the chemical that produces marijuana's "high." For example, cannabidiol has been shown to be a potent anti- inflammatory and anti-convulsive agent to protect nerve cells from damage and to moderate the unwanted psychoactive effects of THC. [continues 120 words]
Syndicated columnist Clarence Page ("End marijuana raids, begin new sanity," March 15 online column) has it exactly right. The decision by the Obama administration to end Drug Enforcement Administration raids aimed at undermining state medical marijuana laws is a good start, but it's only a first step. Federal policy on medical marijuana simply ignores the growing mass of scientific evidence that it can safely and effectively treat certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting, appetite loss and other symptoms that cause great suffering to patients battling cancer and other illnesses. [continues 100 words]
What if there were an action the state of California could take that would raise hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to preserve vital state services without any tax increase? And what if that same measure could, without any new expense, help protect our endangered wilderness areas while making it harder for our kids to get drugs? That is precisely what AB 390, just introduced by California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), would do. By taxing and regulating marijuana similarly to the way beer, wine and liquor are now regulated, Ammiano's measure would take California's largest cash crop - estimated to be worth about $14 billion in 2006 - - out of the criminal underground. By bringing a huge underground economy into the tax system, it would open up a major pool of new revenue without raising anyone's tax rates. [continues 510 words]
The horrifying drug-war violence south of our border with Mexico continues to worsen: beheadings, killings that now number several thousand at least, honest officials in fear for their lives. It's time to put an end to U.S. policies that subsidize these murderous drug gangs. According to U.S. and Mexican officials, some 60 percent of the profits that fuel these thugs come from just one drug, marijuana. While much is smuggled over the border, an increasing amount is produced in the U.S. by foreign gangs operating on American soil -- often in remote corners of national parks and wilderness areas. [continues 552 words]
Columnist Clarence Page, in his March 16 column, has it exactly right: The decision by the Obama administration to end Drug Enforcement Administration raids aimed at undermining state medical marijuana laws is a good start, but it's only a first step. Federal policy on medical marijuana simply ignores the growing mass of scientific evidence that it can safely and effectively treat certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting, appetite loss and other symptoms that cause great suffering to patients battling cancer and other illnesses. [continues 93 words]
Marinol a Weak Excuse for Real Thing Regarding Rhonda Swan's thoughtful column, "What is America smoking?" (March 13): There is a reason Ms. Swan's mother did not find adequate relief from Marinol, the prescription pill falsely touted by our government as a substitute for medical marijuana. Marinol contains only one of more than 60 active components in marijuana, called cannabinoids. While THC is entirely responsible for marijuana's "high," research has shown definitively that it is not responsible for all of marijuana's therapeutic benefits. In one recent study of HIV/AIDS patients, it took eight times the recommended dose of Marinol to roughly equal the effect of relatively weak marijuana - and even then the marijuana was more effective by some measures. Our current marijuana policies are based on myth and misinformation, not science. It is long past time to rethink our laws from top to bottom. Bruce Mirken, director of communications Marijuana Policy Project [end]
Not only is marijuana prohibition a failure (Editorial, March 6), California has proved that by conducting, in effect, a massive, controlled experiment. Our state is a leading producer of two psychoactive drugs, wine and marijuana. Wine is regulated and taxed, produced and sold by licensed businesses. Marijuana has actually become a larger industry despite billions spent to "eradicate" it, an industry run by unregulated criminals in the underground economy. The legal industry produces tax revenue, tourism and prestige for our state. Its participants obey labor laws, environmental laws and all sorts of rules specific to alcoholic beverages. The underground industry obeys no rules, pays no taxes and funds violent criminals who also trade in meth and other dangerous substances. Which system works better? Bruce Mirken Director of communications Marijuana Policy Project Washington, D.C. [end]
What was left unclear in the article on medical marijuana ("Medical marijuana future is up in the air," Feb. 17) is how broad and deep the scientific consensus that marijuana can be medically useful now is. Among others, the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association and the American Public Health Association have all called on the federal government to rethink its ban on the medical use of marijuana. Hapless opponents like Steve Steiner are left with lame arguments like, "It's the law." So was slavery. Sometimes bad laws need to be changed. [continues 122 words]
Thanks for Jill Porter's eminently sensible column about Michael Phelps and marijuana ("Phelps a Toke-ing of Pot Legalizers' Affection," Feb. 4). It's worth remembering that no one would raise an eyebrow if Phelps had been photographed hoisting a Bud or a martini. Compared to marijuana, alcohol is more addictive, more toxic and orders of magnitude more likely to make users aggressive or violent. Phelps apparently chose to unwind with a substance that is far safer, despite its legal status. The more than 872,000 U.S. marijuana arrests in 2007 (89 percent were for mere possession) represent an insane waste of national resources at a time when governments at all levels are awash in debt. Enough. Bruce Mirken Director of Communications Marijuana Policy Project Washington, D.C. [end]
The Baltimore Sun made a number of valid points in its editorial about Michael Phelps ("Snark attack," Feb. 6). But there is more that needs to be said. No one would bat an eyelash if Mr. Phelps had been photographed hoisting a Budweiser. Yet the data show unmistakably that alcohol is more addictive than marijuana, vastly more toxic and orders of magnitude more likely to make its users aggressive or violent. Given the laws, Mr. Phelps took a big risk. But it's our laws that are truly stupid and irresponsible when they punish someone for choosing to unwind with a substance that is safer than beer. It's even dumber, in this era of fiscal crisis, for our government to forgo the billions of dollars in tax revenues that could be generated if marijuana were legally regulated in the ways that alcohol and tobacco are. Bruce Mirken Washington [end]
It is obnoxious and misleading for the Independent Journal to put the word "medicine" in quotation marks when referring to medical marijuana. Marijuana's use as a medicine goes back nearly 5,000 years in the written medical literature. Prestigious organizations from the American College of Physicians to the American Public Health Association and American Nurses Association have all acknowledged that marijuana can be a legitimate medicine. So have the governments of Canada, Israel, Germany and the Netherlands. And the IJ still puts the word in quotes? Give me a break. Bruce Mirken, director of communications, Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, D.C. [end]
While no one would begrudge Sheriff Bill Wittman his award for doing his job energetically, the unfortunate truth is that marijuana "eradication" is a myth ("Anti-marijuana campaign earns national honors," Dec. 3). The U.S. government's own National Drug Threat Assessment 2008 reports no decline in marijuana availability despite years of escalating plant seizures and increasing arrests for possession. In fact, the report cites raids on outdoor grows (such as those for which the sheriff is being honored) as one of the factors causing illicit growers to "shift operations indoors," where they "will produce higher-potency marijuana year-round, allowing for an exponential increase in profits derived." [continues 71 words]
Blade Ombudsman and columnist Jack Lessenberry seems to have misunderstood virtually every aspect of Michigan's medical marijuana law and the other 12 states' medical marijuana laws in his Dec. 5 column, "Medical marijuana mess confronts Michiganders." First, only one aspect of the law is in effect now: Those using marijuana for medical purposes can now use evidence to that effect as a defense if they are arrested. Protection of patients from arrest doesn't take effect till April, when the state begins issuing ID cards to patients legally authorized to possess marijuana. No mystery there. [continues 138 words]
On Dec. 5, 1933, America ended one of the great mistakes of our history by repealing Prohibition. The "noble experiment" to ban liquor didn't stop people from drinking, but simply handed the alcohol market lock, stock and barrel to gangsters. Crime and corruption soared out of control. Today, we are repeating the same tragic mistake with marijuana. Prohibition of marijuana hasn't stopped people from using it - indeed, according to government statistics, marijuana use has increased some 4,000 percent since the first federal ban in 1937. And like that earlier Prohibition, it's made gangsters rich while surrendering control of production and distribution to criminals who despoil California's national parks and forests. [continues 58 words]
Hawai'i's medical marijuana law has done enormous good for thousands of suffering patients ("Hawai'i medical pot use up 87 percent," Nov. 24). However, it's unfortunate that Keith Kamita of the Narcotics Enforcement Division sees a problem with use of marijuana to treat severe pain. In the last two years, three published clinical trials have verified marijuana's safety and efficacy for treating pain caused by nerve damage related to multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other causes. And marijuana is far less toxic and addictive than commonly used pain drugs. [continues 62 words]
The opposition to Proposal 1, the Michigan medical marijuana initiative, is going on the air with this new TV ad - a spot so egregiously dishonest that even my very jaded jaw dropped when I saw it. It may set an all-time record for the most lies ever packed into a 30-second commercial, spoken by a narrator over grainy, black-and-white footage of what purports to be a medical marijuana dispensary. The most obvious: 1) California's medical marijuana law is "just like Proposal 1." No, it's not. California's law has almost none of the limitations and restrictions the Michigan proposal does - including a defined list of qualifying conditions and a mandatory patient registry and ID card system. And unlike California's law, Michigan's initiative does not authorize dispensaries. Period. [continues 169 words]
"When we push back against the drug problem, it gets smaller." -- John Walters, White House Drug Czar Well, now we know why federal officials chose to release the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) ( see http://www.drugabusestatistics.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k7nsduh/2k7Results.pdf )on a day when the Republican convention's climax and a string of hurricanes is likely to keep it out of the headlines. The survey pretty much dynamites Office of National Drug Control Policy chief John Walters' claims of success in reducing marijuana and drug use during his tenure, which he'd like us to attribute to his aggressive policies, and particularly ONDCP's near-obsession with demonizing marijuana. [continues 389 words]
Re "Weeding good from bad," editorial, Aug. 27 Bravo to The Times for cutting to the heart of the recent medical marijuana controversies. Federal policies that treat even the most ethical and law-abiding medical marijuana providers as common criminals only make life easier for the unscrupulous types. The best way to ensure that medical marijuana is appropriately regulated is for the federal government to leave states alone to regulate it as needed. In that respect, there is a clear difference between the major party presidential candidates. Barack Obama has said he would end the federal raids. John McCain likes current federal policy just fine, and actually ridiculed patients who pleaded with him for more compassionate policies during primary campaign events in New Hampshire last year. Bruce Mirken Communications Director Marijuana Policy Project Washington [end]
On August 19, the Associated Press reported on a group of college presidents proposing reconsideration of the legal drinking age. I'll refrain from wading into the emotional debate about what the legal age for alcohol should be, but a graph that accompanied the story in some outlets, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch raises larger questions about our national policies towards drugs and alcohol. Two things are striking: 1) The number of alcohol poisoning deaths in the U.S. is shockingly high, consistently between 300 and 400 each year. The number of annual deaths from marijuana poisoning remains -- as always -- zero. [continues 418 words]
There is no polite way to put this, so I'll just say it: Deputy drug czar Scott Burns is either an ignoramus or a liar. There are far more falsehoods in his interview than one letter can possibly correct, so I'll focus on two: LIE #1: Tough laws and enforcement are reducing marijuana use: Burns says, "drug use is down in the United States dramatically since 2001 . So we know that when we push back, the problem gets smaller." [continues 378 words]
Monday's editorial, "Return the pot," [Times, July 21] was exactly right in saying that medical marijuana seized from Martin Martinez, head of the Life Vine cooperative in the University District, should be returned. Based on all information now available, Martinez was acting within the parameters of Washington's medical-marijuana law, and police have no right -- and no logical reason -- to keep his property. The editorial did have one small factual error, however: There are now a total of 12 states with medical-marijuana laws, not 11: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. That number could become 13 this year: A medical-marijuana initiative will be on Michigan's November ballot, and early polls have shown it leading. Bruce Mirken, director of communications of the Marijuana Policy Project San Francisco [end]
I couldn't help but laugh when I read Sheriff Tom Bosenko's claim of "success" for last year's Operation Alesia, promoted as a marijuana "eradication" campaign. No law enforcement agency has ever been able to produce evidence that such campaigns reduce the marijuana supply, environmental damage from illicit marijuana growing, involvement of criminal gangs in marijuana production or teen access to marijuana -- because no such evidence exists. None other than the U.S. Department of Justice has acknowledged that these campaigns push growers into more dangerous locations, including residential neighborhoods, and actually encourage the production of higher-potency marijuana. The department's National Drug Threat Assessment 2008 states: "Federal, state, and local law enforcement reporting indicates that vigorous outdoor cannabis eradication efforts have caused major marijuana producers, particularly Caucasian groups, to relocate indoors, even in leading outdoor grow states such as California and Tennessee. ... DTOs (Drug Trafficking Organization) and criminal groups ... will adapt to the increasing law enforcement pressure and improved detection capabilities associated with outdoor grow sites and will most likely shift operations indoors ... (T)he groups will produce higher-potency marijuana year-round, allowing for an exponential increase in profits derived." If California regulated its marijuana industry the same way it regulates its wine industry, these problems would disappear and what is now a drain on taxpayer resources would be converted into a significant source of revenue. Bruce Mirken Director of communications Marijuana Policy Project [end]
Bill Steigerwald sounded an appropriately skeptical note regarding the 35th anniversary of the DEA. There is no more spectacular example of wasted government resources than America's war on marijuana. Just like Prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s, marijuana prohibition has utterly failed to stem access to or use of marijuana, despite 830,000 marijuana arrests in 2006. An even bigger question is, why do we do it? By any measurable standard, marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol - -- less addictive, far less toxic and less likely to induce violence or aggression. [continues 78 words]
The Appeal-Democrat got it exactly right in its June 22 editorial, "Medical-pot politics." There is no logical or legal basis for believing that federal law bars state or local officials from issuing medical marijuana ID cards or taking other actions to ensure orderly implementation of Proposition 215. A dozen states have medical marijuana laws, and most have state-run patient registries and ID card programs. The federal government has taken no action against government officials implementing these programs. Not anywhere. Not ever. [continues 119 words]
In What Is Becoming a Nearly Annual Ritual, the ONDCP Has Released Yet Another Report Filled With Dire Warnings About Rising Marijuana Potency. In what is becoming a nearly annual ritual, on June 12 the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released yet another report filled with dire warnings about rising marijuana potency. And the U.S. media -- led by the Associated Press, by far the nation's most powerful wire service -- once again mistakenly treated the story as if it was actual news. [continues 902 words]
ONCE AGAIN the cancer diagnosis of a well-known national figure -- in this case Sen. Ted Kennedy -- has sparked a flurry of interest in efforts to treat and cure this frustrating, complex and deadly illness. One of the most promising areas of research involves a group of chemicals whose origins may seem shocking. The chemicals, called cannabinoids, are the active components in marijuana. Yes, marijuana, the very same drug that seems to generate endless controversy here and abroad, and that our government still claims causes cancer -- a claim that appears to stand reality on its head. [continues 551 words]
Time to Extinguish Political Interference in Medical Process Dear editor, It is disturbing to read that Gov. Christine Gregoire has asked the Department of Health to review its newly developed rules regarding the amount medical marijuana patients may possess, apparently because she simply didn't like them ("Medical marijuana: How much is enough?" 5/21). Contrary to some assertions, law enforcement had ample opportunities to give input as the guidelines were developed. Arguably, they've already had too much input: Since when do we let cops with no medical training determine medication dosages? [continues 59 words]
Each month Irvin Rosenfeld goes to his pharmacy and picks up a special prescription, supplied to him by the U.S. government: a canister containing roughly 10 ounces of marijuana in pre-rolled cigarettes. Rosenfeld, a Boca Raton, Florida stockbroker, suffers from a rare illness called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, a painful genetic disease that causes tumors to grow at the ends of his long bones, causing unbelievable pain. He is also one of four surviving patients receiving government-supplied medical marijuana, in a program that was closed to new applicants by President George H.W. Bush in 1992. [continues 595 words]
James Thalman raises a number of noteworthy issues related to America's "war on drugs" (May 4). This failed "war" is particularly irrational when applied to marijuana, a substance well documented in the scientific literature to be far less harmful than legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. Rethinking our marijuana laws need not imply approval of the use of marijuana or any other drug. If we treated marijuana under the law the same way we treat alcohol, we more effectively control its distribution, do a better job of curbing misuse and abuse and reduce crime. Bruce Mirken Director of communications Marijuana Policy Project Washington, D.C. [end]
Re: Dr. Michael T. Jamison's April 27 commentary, "Medicinal marijuana at what cost?": Dr. Jamison makes an important point: Medical marijuana is a medicine, not a toy, and should be treated with appropriate respect. No one should drive when reactions or decision-making abilities are impaired by anything, be it marijuana, alcohol, drowsiness-inducing over-the-counter antihistamines or prescription narcotics. Doctors who hand out medical marijuana recommendations without following appropriate standards of care should be disciplined by the state medical board. Indeed, many have been. [continues 126 words]
Tortuga Bi LIBERTY writes, "All smoke is bad for your lungs, so cannabis should be eaten, never smoked" (Letters, APRIL 17). This is only partly correct. Yes, all smoke is unhealthful to the lungs and can increase one's chances of cough, bronchitis, and other lung problems, though the data suggest that occasional smokers of marijuana run relatively little risk. And, unlike tobacco, marijuana smoking has not been shown to increase one's risk of lung cancer. Eating marijuana, however, may not be a viable alternative for everyone: Because of how it's processed by the body, cannabis that's eaten tends to act much more slowly, while the psychoactive effect is generally stronger than with smoking and lasts a great deal longer. Depending on circumstances, this may be either good or bad, but it's certainly a different experience than smoking. [continues 76 words]
Jane Christmas has some very strong opinions about marijuana (Letter to the editor, "Marijuana causes cancer and should be totally illegal," April 2), but her grip on the facts is weak. No, marijuana has not been shown to cause lung cancer or any other type of cancer: A few small studies have suggested a link, but the largest and most well-controlled studies have actually found lower rates of cancer in marijuana smokers than in non-smokers. Indeed, THC and other cannabinoids (marijuana's active components) have been proven to have anti-cancer activity in literally dozens of studies. [continues 111 words]
(Re: News article, "Man acquitted in pot case," March 28.) Tim Stevens is fortunate that a jury recognized his legitimate medical need for marijuana, which is well documented in scientific studies to relieve nausea, vomiting, and other symptoms - often when conventional drugs fail. But patients like him should not have to depend on luck and an open-minded jury. Recently, the 124,000-member American College of Physicians cited a "clear discord" between current laws and the scientific consensus regarding marijuana's value as a medicine, and strongly called for legal protection for patients who need medical marijuana. It's time for legislators - on the state and federal levels - to put aside old misconceptions and prejudices and enact clear protection for patients whose lives and well-being depend on medical use of marijuana. Bruce Mirken Communications Director Marijuana Policy Project San Francisco [end]
Re: "A recession in the drug market," Tuesday Business. Despite the claims of John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, government surveys show that use of marijuana and other drugs is far higher than it was 15 years ago. And the Justice Department's 2008 Drug Threat Assessment predicts that increased marijuana cultivation - particularly of high-potency marijuana grown indoors - will lead to a drop in prices. Given that marijuana arrests recently hit an all-time record of 830,000 in 2006, this is astonishing. [continues 64 words]
