Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
Source: Post-Tribune (Merrillville, IN)
Copyright: 2007 Post-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.post-trib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3349

IT'S TIME TO APPROVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

We've all seen the images and heard the testimony of  ailing 
Americans who gain relief from their chronic  physical pain or 
discomfort by smoking marijuana. These  people have no other remedies 
at their disposal to make  their lives more tolerable.

Since the 2006 Supreme Court ruling against people who  use 
prescription pot, 12 states have rallied to pass  bills protecting 
them from prosecution.

Efforts to get such a bill through the Illinois General  Assembly 
have been bumpy. But with the shift in power  in Springfield, there 
is optimism that a bill  introduced by Sen. John Cullerton, 
D-Chicago, will be  approved. We urge his colleagues to pass it when 
it  comes up for a vote. We also encourage the Indiana  General 
Assembly to follow its neighbor's lead.

Far from opening the door to decriminalizing marijuana,  the bill 
stipulates that the only people eligible to  use it are those 
afflicted with cancer, glaucoma,  positive HIV status or Hepatitis C, 
or who are  "diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating 
medical condition" accompanied by severe symptoms. The  individual 
and one primary caregiver would be issued a  registry identification 
card by the Department of  Public Health that would permit them to 
possess a  limited amount of cannabis in plant or usable form.

Would the system be abused? Most likely, yes. But tight  controls 
would keep it to a minimum. Any abuses of the  system would be worth 
tolerating if it meant cancer  patients could alleviate their nausea 
or vomiting, and  if AIDS patients could regain their appetites.

Medical marijuana is just that: medicine. Denying it to  those who 
need it borders on cruelty.

This reflects the consensus of Sun-Times News Group newspapers in 
metropolitan Chicago.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine