Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) Copyright: 2004 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc Contact: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340 Author: Joycelyn Elders Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Joycelyn+Elders VERBATIM DEFENDING MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA An excerpt from a commentary by Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. surgeon general, on Rhode Island legislation that would allow medical use of marijuana. It appeared March 26 in the Providence Journal. Foes of the medical-marijuana bill keep raising objections. So let's look at their arguments... . "There is no evidence that marijuana is a medicine." The truth: The medical literature on marijuana goes back 5,000 years. In a 1999 study commissioned by the White House, the Institute of Medicine reported that "nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety... all can be mitigated by marijuana." In its April 2003 issue, the British medical journal The Lancet reported that marijuana relieves pain in virtually every test that scientists use to measure pain relief. "The medical community doesn't support this; just a bunch of drug legalizers do." The truth: Numerous medical and public-health organizations support legal access to medical marijuana. National groups include the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association... . "Marijuana is too dangerous to be medicine; it's bad for the immune system, endangering AIDS and cancer patients." The truth: Unlike many of the drugs we prescribe every day, marijuana has never been proven to cause a fatal overdose. Research on AIDS patients has debunked the claim of harm to the immune system: In a study at San Francisco General Hospital, AIDS patients using medical marijuana gained immune-system cells and kept their virus under control as well as patients who received a placebo. They also gained more needed weight... . "Medical-marijuana laws send the wrong message to kids, encouraging teen marijuana use." The truth: That fear, raised in 1996, when California passed the first effective medical-marijuana law, has not come true. According to the official California Student Survey, teen marijuana use in California rose steadily from 1990 to 1996, but began falling immediately after the medical-marijuana law was passed. Among ninth graders, marijuana use in the last six months fell by more than 40 percent from 1995-96 to 2001-02 (the most recent available figures). It is simply wrong for the sick and suffering to be casualties in the war on drugs. Let's get rid of the myths and institute sound public-health policy. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake