From The Pilot: November 20, 2009
Regarding Florence Gilkeson's thoughtful Nov. 13 column, while there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug.
If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps him or her feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life issue best left to patients and their doctors. Drug warriors waging war on non-corporate drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention.
Their prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors should not be dictating health care decisions. It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for patients; sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek relief from medical marijuana.
Robert Sharpe, MPA
Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.
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