Pubdate: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 Source: Post-Bulletin (Rochester, MN) Copyright: 2008 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC Contact: http://www.postbulletin.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1342 Author: Dennis Denzer MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAKES SENSE Currently, 12 states have medical marijuana laws on the books, and it's time Minnesota joined them. In our state, a bill has already been passed by the Senate, and the House will vote on it soon. The governor has indicated he may veto it, even though Minnesotans favor it by a 2 to 1 margin. The governor says he stands with law enforcement, but he ought to be listening to the medical professionals. For instance, the American College of Physicians published a paper in February urging the reclassification of marijuana to allow for medical use, but also emphasized the tremendous amount of evidence in support of its medical efficacy that we already have. And the physicians went on to urge protection from arrest for patients in states where medical marijuana laws exist. ACP is the second-largest physician group in the country, with a membership of more than 124,000, and its supportive policy position is good news for patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and chronic pain for whom medical marijuana can provide some relief. Rather than exhibiting such a "reefer madness" mentality that relief is denied to sick and suffering patients, our government and our laws should embody the compassion that is a part of our state's character. Dennis Denzer Rochester - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom