Pubdate: Mon, 09 Sep 2002
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2002 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Bruce Mirken

MARIJUANA DRUG CZAR DISTORTS REPORT

Editor -- On behalf of the Marijuana Policy Project, I would like to
thank White House drug czar John Walters for demonstrating the
dishonesty of government drug warriors (Open Forum, Sept. 1).

Astonishingly, Walters claims that the 1999 Institute of Medicine
report didn't urge the government to allow seriously ill people legal
access to medical marijuana on a case-by-case basis. What the
institute did say about medical use of marijuana by AIDS and cancer
patients was "nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all
afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana."

The institute did urge development of marijuana's active ingredients
into a nonsmoked form, but noted, "[I]t will likely be many years
before a safe and effective cannabinoid delivery system, such as an
inhaler, is available for patients. In the meantime there are patients
with debilitating symptoms for whom smoked marijuana might provide
relief."

Taken in context, the institute's message is unmistakable.

Walters' attempts to deny the obvious are embarrassing. He blasts
Marijuana Policy Project for our New York Times ad urging that the
institute's recommendation be followed, but ignores the hundreds of
organizations and individuals who signed that ad, including former
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders, world-renowned AIDS
researcher Dr. Michael Saag, researcher and health author Dr. Andrew
Weil, the American Public Health Association, the California Nurses
Association and the California Pharmacists Association, to name just a
few.

Maybe these experts were duped. Maybe John Walters, unbeknown to us,
has medical expertise beyond that of the world's leading physicians
and researchers. Or maybe he's lying in a desperate attempt to save a
collapsing policy.

Bruce Mirken,

Marijuana Policy Project,

Washington
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MAP posted-by: Derek