Pubdate: Sun, 22 Jun 2008 Source: Albany Democrat-Herald (OR) Copyright: 2008 Lee Enterprises Contact: http://www.mvonline.com/support/contact/dhletter.html Website: http://www.democratherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/7 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n588/a04.html Author: Allan Erickson CANNABIS, MEDICINE AND PRIVACY Hasso Hering has penned an excellent editorial, "Medical pot law needs a fix" (Sunday, June 15). Throughout the years Hering has been a stable voice on an issue that too often gets lowered to the level of hysterics. Oregon now has nearly 3,000 doctors who have signed recommendations for patients to legally utilize cannabis (marijuana) as medicine. Unfortunately pot's critics too often have a voice more powerful than the message of criticism they spew. Kevin Mannix and many in Oregon's law enforcement community condemn the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP), yet their criticism is based not on fact or science but on perpetuation of the Reefer Madness myth. For instance, the U.S. government has known since 1974 that cannabis has anti-cancer properties, yet that study was buried. Continuing research (usually in foreign nations) shows pot effective for many medical conditions as an effective tool in reducing the need for (and physiologic harms from) pharmaceutical drugs. Pot is one of the oldest substances in humanity's pharmacopoeia, with no known fatal dosage (or fatality). Oregonians should continue to support patients' access to cannabis and protect our most basic rights of privacy. There is nothing more personal than an individual's health care and it should remain a private matter between them and their doctor. ALLAN ERICKSON Eugene - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath