It may well be that health care providers in Springfield are mum on medical marijuana because of the potential liability associated with it. Just last week a Florida jury awarded Cynthia Robinson, whose husband died of lung cancer, $23.6 billion in punitive damages from R.J. Reynolds. Paving the way for the verdict was the state's Supreme Court's ruling making it easier to prove that Big Tobacco knowingly sold dangerous products and hid the hazards of cigarette smoking. The Court said that smokers and their families needed only to prove addiction and illnesses or death. [continues 89 words]
Marijuana is a drug that cripples; and if the medical marijuana bill passes, it will cripple thousands of youth. In Illinois, 15,759 marijuana users were admitted for treatment in 2010 - 36.4 percent were 12-17 years old. The medical marijuana bill allows 18-year-olds - high school seniors - - to purchase medical marijuana cards. The card entitles them to buy 21/2 ounces of marijuana every 14 days; 21/2 ounces makes 183 joints. This bill is an invitation to drug use and dealing in high schools. Each year, two-thirds of new marijuana users are under the age of 18. Additionally, more high school seniors smoked marijuana than smoked cigarettes, according to the 2010 Monitoring the Future Survey. The legislature's action sends the message to teenagers that marijuana is safe. [continues 135 words]
Professor Paul Campos needs to look at the lives that have been inextricably altered by using marijuana before writing about the "irrationality of pot paranoia" (May 19). The 1999 Drug Abuse Warning Network survey of 134 hospital emergency departments showed that 14,790 marijuana/hashish patients were treated for unexpected reactions, 9,072 were treated for overdoses, and 7,737 for detox. These numbers come from just 134 emergency departments; what are the numbers nationwide? THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, can cause lung disease, bacterial and viral infections, brain damage, genetic damage, immune disorders, increased tumor growth and psychomotor impairment. [continues 51 words]
The late '80s and very early '90s were much different from today. In 1990 drug use among youth was going down. Marijuana use by twelfth graders had dropped 68 percent from 1978 to 1992. This dramatic decline in marijuana use was due in large part to parents and other concerned adults recognizing that our youth were in serious peril and that someone needed to do something to stop it. During the 1980s little was known about the signs or effects of different drugs, but what parents did recognize was that the behaviors of their children were exhibiting were neither normal nor healthy. In an effort to protect the children, drug prevention was started. People educated themselves and other about drugs. Attitudes and policies were changed. There was a strong and consistent "no use" message about drug use. [continues 324 words]
