Pubdate: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA) Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Examiner Contact: http://www.examiner.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389 Author: Steve Wagner Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n250/a04.html NO POT FOR THE NEEDY I have a friend who has suffered from fibromyalgia for years. There is no "cure" for fibromyalgia, so she either has to endure the incredible pain that it causes, or seek some kind of temporary medical relief. She does not want to become reliant on pharmaceutical drugs, not caring for their effect on her thought processes nor the expense of legal narcotics. So every now and then, when things get a little too unbearable, she will take a puff of pot. I'm sure all that will have to change now, though: Last night we heard Drug Enforcement Agency head Asa Hutchinson on television explaining that Congress had determined that marijuana has no medicinal value, and that the U.S. Supreme Court had affirmed that determination. ("Feds vs. S.F. on Pot," The Examiner, Feb. 13.) Any toking done now might make my friend realize that two branches of government are full of crap -- and we already knew about that third one. Steve Wagner, Oakland - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake