Pubdate: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 Source: Bradenton Herald (FL) Copyright: 2003 Bradenton Herald Contact: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58 Author: Catherine E. Jordan MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE On April 3, the Drug Enforcement Administration formally accepted an administrative petition seeking federal recognition of the accepted medical use of cannabis in the United States, activating a federal review of marijuana's status under federal law that could eventually result in its medical availability. The petition by the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis was filed in October 2002 and seeks establishment of a legal production and distribution system for medical cannabis in the United States under existing provisions of the federal Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana is regulated but unavailable for medical use in the United States because it is a Schedule I substance, as is heroin. The federal government insists that cannabis has a high potential for abuse, is unsafe for use under medical supervision and has no accepted medical use in the United States. The coalition argues that all three of the government's claims are incorrect and that each is contradicted by scientific research and medical convention. I believe it's amazing how the DEA has the power to keep medicine from me that keeps me alive. I have four neurologists who believe this is the best medicine for me. I have ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease, I was diagnosed in 1986 and was given three to five years to live. I feel God led me to Florida and I had the good fortune to run into some Myakka Gold. I smoked this back in 1989 and my disease stopped. Now it takes years, not months, for my disease to progress. I have educated some neurologists on this, but I cannot remove their fear of the government. They could lose their license by just agreeing with me. Until you're in this situation where you're dying, you have no idea how frustrating it is for me and others. To have to break the law every day just to live. Cannabis is a medical issue, not a political one. Catherine E. Jordan is President of Manatee Cannabis Action Network - --- MAP posted-by: Alex