Pubdate: Tue, 03 Jul 2001 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2001 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) LET'S TURN A NEW LEAF ON MEDICAL USE OF POT It appears that former U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro's testimony before a U.S. Senate committee detailing her battle with blood cancer and to lobby for more funding to fight this disease was successful. Legislation authorizing additional funding will be added, and that is good. While patients are benefitting from advances in cancer treatment, therapies such as chemotherapy still wreak havoc on them, and many stop treatment because they cannot handle the violent retching and conventional medications often fail to stem the nausea. The government has known for decades that marijuana is a treatment for nausea. Generations of cancer patients have been forced to break the law to stop vomiting. When you hear cancer patients describe what their days are like, and how it feels to go through intense nausea, to watch themselves waste away because they cannot keep food down, you can understand why every option must be available, including marijuana. What if Geraldine Ferraro had found marijuana effective in treating her cancer, and testified that marijuana helped her get her through the fight? Would the senators consider changing the cruel status quo that withholds this tool from the sick and dying, denying them a chance to regain a little quality of life as they endure cancer treatment? Ferraro's former colleague in the House, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), has introduced a state's rights medical marijuana bill, HR 1344, that would reschedule cannabis so physicians could prescribe it, and it now has 17 co-sponsors. The House and Senate should move to pass this bill as soon as possible. Gary Storck, Madison, Wis. - --- MAP posted-by: GD