Pubdate: Tue, 23 Oct 2001
Source: Half Moon Bay Review (CA)
Copyright: 2001, Wick Communications, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.hmbreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/178
Author: Jim White
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1768/a07.html

FEDS UNDERMINE MARIJUANA STUDY

Dear editor:

It's no wonder the only patient dropped out of the medical marijuana 
study. ("Lone Patient quits marijuana study," Oct. 10 issue.)

The government has opposed any study of marijuana that focuses on the 
positive effects of marijuana instead of the negative. Growing 
poor-quality marijuana renders a poor-quality drug more akin to what 
marijuana users call ditch-weed.

Ditch-weed is generally a low-quality, less potent, bad tasting and 
foul smelling cousin of marijuana called hemp.

The major problem is that the government doesn't know how to grow 
quality marijuana, but does know how to grow hemp. While this works 
well for the official government position that marijuana is not 
medicine, it does nothing to advance science or our knowledge of 
medical marijuana.

Any study of the medicinal properties of marijuana should include 
high-quality marijuana grown by experts who know how to grow and 
process marijuana (which involves culling the seeds and stems) and 
not some government bozo reading the Hemp for Victory "Cultivating 
Hemp" (circa 1942) training manual.

Jim White

Oregon, OH
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MAP posted-by: Josh