Pubdate: Fri, 16 Feb 2007
Source: Norwich Bulletin (CT)
Copyright: 2007 Norwich Bulletin
Contact: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2206
Author: Marc Guttman, For the Norwich Bulletin
Note: Dr. Marc Guttman is an emergency physician and vice-chairman of 
the Libertarian Party of Connecticut. He lives in East Lyme. He would 
much prefer to spend his time with his family and friends and playing 
outdoors than endeavoring to reverse the damage of aggressive governments.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

PATIENTS DESERVE CHOICE OF MARIJUANA THERAPY

Connecticut House Bill HB 6715: An Act Concerning the Palliative Use 
of Marijuana decriminalizes marijuana as a therapy "to alleviate a 
qualifying patient's symptoms of...debilitating medical conditions 
(such as) cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human 
immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, 
Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue 
of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of 
intractable spasticity, epilepsy, cachexia or wasting syndrome."

The passage of this bill will count Connecticut among 12 other states 
in no longer disallowing competent adult patients from choosing 
marijuana as a medical therapy for themselves. Many non-governmental 
medical organizations support the medical use of marijuana, believing 
patients and their physicians should be trusted to decide whether the 
patient will benefit from the therapy.

Since individual liberty is both universally beneficial and paramount 
to a free society, libertarian-minded people believe every individual 
may choose what medical treatments are appropriate for themselves, 
preferably in consultation with an educated adviser, such as a 
physician. Thusly, we all bear the responsibility for making our own 
medical and health decisions.

Unfortunately, HB 6715 requires "written certification ... signed by 
the qualifying patient's physician stating that, in such physician's 
professional opinion, the qualifying patient has a debilitating 
medical condition and the potential benefits of the palliative use of 
marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks of such use to the 
qualifying patient," and requires the patient to present this 
information to the state Department of Public Health, as well as pay a fee.

Despite nearly 80 percent support among the American people for the 
decriminalizing of medical marijuana, the federal government 
continues to wage war against legitimate medical marijuana patients. 
In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 that the 
federal government may continue to arrest and prosecute sick and 
terminally ill Americans who use marijuana for medical purposes. 
Justice Clarence Thomas in a brilliant and rational dissent argued 
"if Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can 
regulate virtually anything -- and the Federal Government is no 
longer one of limited and enumerated powers...the Court abandons any 
attempt to enforce the Constitution's limits on federal power ... If 
the Federal Government can regulate growing a half-dozen cannabis 
plants for personal consumption (not because it is interstate 
commerce, but because it is inextricably bound up with interstate 
commerce), then Congress' Article I powers ... have no meaningful 
limits." Personal right

The reality is many seriously ill patients already make the personal 
choice to use marijuana as a therapy, regardless of the law and its 
consequences. Currently, the FDA infringes upon our right to 
self-ownership by denying our use of non-FDA-approved therapies, as 
manufacturers are not allowed to distribute them.

Libertarians see no distinction between this infringement on our 
individual liberty than the recently publicized examples of 
government authoritarianism: property seizure, NSA warrantless spying 
and the new mandatory national ID. While FDA approval standards help 
to ensure the safety and efficacy of health products, persons should 
be free to opt out and utilize therapies and dietary supplements not 
approved by the FDA.

Although some people will indeed make what many of us consider bad 
personal choices, by trying to control their choices through 
authoritarian legislation, we do them and ourselves more harm. There 
are many good reasons for people to abstain from drug use, but no 
good reason to initiate force against them if they choose 
differently. There are significantly better ways to help persons with 
drug addiction problems.

The many billions of dollars every year we spend trying to prosecute 
and detain nonviolent drug offenders in an unsuccessful attempt to 
prevent people from using drugs is wasteful and detrimental to our 
society, not to mention to those incarcerated individuals and their families.

While our nation debates drug prohibition, Connecticut's legislature 
can do something positive to help suffering patients in this state by 
passing HB 6715 and allowing competent adults the choice of marijuana 
as a palliative therapy for their symptoms.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake