As a pediatrician and a former pharmacist, I feel that it is necessary to provide some information to voters regarding Measure 5, which would legalize marijuana for "medical" use.

1. A plant cannot be used as a medicine because we cannot answer necessary questions, including whether it is useful for a given medical condition and what is a "dose" - child versus adult, condition, route of administration? Pharmaceutical medications containing THC already exist and can be prescribed by a health care provider.

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Medical marijuana needs to pass.

My son suffers from autoimmune disease to the point where he can no longer enjoy daily activities most of us take for granted like going for a walk because of his pain. My son experienced years of medical professionals more concerned about their liability insurance premiums going up than treating my son's pain.

Can you imagine what it was like to carry my son out of the emergency room without medication screaming in pain? This happened because the doctor thought he might be a user.

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FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A group pushing to legalize medical marijuana in North Dakota is making a last-minute advertising push thanks to a surprise donation from a national organization,

North Dakota Compassionate Care, which is sponsoring an initiated measure on the state's ballot, quickly organized the ad campaign after receiving $15,000 last week from Drug Policy Action, said group spokeswoman Anita Morgan. DPA is the political arm of a group that advocates for the overhaul of drug laws.

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Measure 5, medical marijuana is not good medicine and it's bad law.

Measure 5 supporters want you to believe the measure creates a process for marijuana use that is a safer alternative to traditional prescription medications. What they have not told you is there is not enough scientific evidence to prove the benefits outweigh the risks.

They also have not told you Measure 5 authorizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes without the oversight of your doctor, or any other medical professional for that matter. Under this proposal, people who claim to suffer from certain medical conditions can purchase their marijuana from a so-called "Compassionate Care Center" or "Designated Care Provider." Do not let the names fool you - compassionate care center staff and designated care providers are not required to have any medical or pharmaceutical training.

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My 54 year old daughter has multiple sclerosis and was diagnosed in 1987. She lives in Washington state where medical marijuana is legal. She has said for years that it is the only thing that helps her pain. Her MS is progressing and she had a real tough time.

I am asking North Dakota to approve to legalization of this wonderful, pain relieving medicine. Opiates are addictive, and are legal. Why isn't medical marijuana?

Bonnie Field

[end]

(Measure 5 would allow medical marijuana in the state and give the Health Department the power to issue patient ID cards and regulate dispensaries.)

While the question of medical marijuana would once have been quite controversial, we think it no longer is, nor should it be. There are good questions raised by the North Dakota Medical Association about the consistency of dosages, but that problem can be addressed during the implementation of a program. Nearly half the country has already approved some form of medical marijuana, including Montana. There is growing evidence to show that the active ingredients in cannabis help reduce the symptoms of multiple diseases and with easing the side effects of chemotherapy and other treatments. Given the wide range of other states that have successfully implemented such programs, we believe it is time for North Dakota to do the same.

[end]

I recently read with interest an article by Mike McFeely , (a WDAY host and Forum columnist) entitled "Medical marijuana a needed debate in North Dakota." At the end of his article he stated that North Dakota backers of medical marijuana would be wise to do some storytelling.

Shortly before marijuana was banned by The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, new technologies were developed that made hemp a potential competitor with the newly-founded synthetic fiber and plastics industries. Hemp's potential for producing paper also posed a threat to the timber industry. Evidence suggests that commercial interests having much to lose from hemp competition helped propagate reefer madness hysteria, and used their influence to lobby for marijuana prohibition.

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The parents of a North Dakota State College of Science student found dead of a gunshot after working as an undercover drug informant want the FBI to take over the investigation.

Andrew Sadek, a 20-year-old student at the Wahpeton community college, was a drug informant before he went missing in May 2014. About two months later, his body was found in the Red River near Wahpeton with a gunshot to his head.

His parents, Tammy and John Sadek, who live in Rogers, have said they believe their son was murdered, possibly because of his work as an informant. However, autopsy results offered no conclusion on whether someone killed him or whether he killed himself.

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Listen.

Do you hear it?

It's the sound of the system working-the system, that is, to prevent more young people from using illegal drugs.

Granted, the sound is not the satisfying purr of a smooth-running engine. Instead, it creaks and it clanks, and now and then it sputters to a stop.

But then it rumbles up-and make no mistake, it's continuing to advance. And that's vital to remember after reading stories such as Sunday's "We let them down"-a story that itself is a key sign of the drug-prevention system at work.

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It looks more and more likely there will be at least one ballot measure this fall regarding the legalizing of marijuana use in North Dakota.

There are two groups looking to have initiated measures related to marijuana use on the November ballot. One group is gathering signatures to allow medical marijuana use only and a second group gathering signatures wishes to allow legal use of marijuana by anyone over the age of 21. If signatures are gathered and it is passed by voters into law it also would allow adults 21 and older to grow marijuana and possess paraphernalia and would cap the sales tax.

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It's commendable that some Republican candidates support decriminalizing the relatively safe, extremely popular and God-given plant cannabis (marijuana), but it should be completely re-legalized ("Marijuana measure sponsors must resubmit petition after using old law," Page B3, Feb. 12).

Responsible adults should not be caged or punished in any way for using a substance that has proven safer than alcohol.

Colorado re-legalized cannabis, and every subsequent poll indicates voters continue supporting the end of cannabis prohibition. A sane or moral argument to perpetuate cannabis prohibition doesn't exist.

Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

[end]

BISMARCK - Backers of a proposed ballot measure to legalize marijuana in North Dakota made an error in their petition submitted Wednesday, and the state's chief law enforcement officer said their proposal to legalize pot-related synthetic drugs also is a big mistake.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and the head of the state Board of Pharmacy expressed concern Thursday that, in addition to legalizing natural marijuana, the measure would delete synthetic cannabinoids from the list of Schedule 1 drugs after several years of efforts to outlaw the substances.

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It doesn't take long for drug addiction to stop you from achieving your dreams. Rotting in jail for the self-harm caused by addiction will further prevent any future success.

Currently, we have a broken criminal justice system that preys upon minorities and the poor who cannot afford a lawyer.

The United States has the highest percentage of its citizens in jail. Those with a dissenting opinion might say that incarceration is a way to instantly take the addicts off the street and force them into drug rehabilitation. "

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