Pubdate: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Copyright: 2008 The Daily Herald Company Contact: http://www.dailyherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107 Author: Dan Linn MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM NEEDED Cannabis has not one documented overdose fatality, yet is considered dangerous and outlawed completely. Despite evidence that cannabis can be medically beneficial for numerous conditions, and is supported by the American College of Physicians and most recently the student section of the American Medical Association, the federal government insists on depriving this natural medicine from those who seek to use it legally in states that have passed medical cannabis laws. It is truly tragic that our government wants to deprive sick people of their medicine in its failed attempt to stay the course in the war on drugs. Illinois has a law on the books to allow for medical cannabis but it has never been implemented. Attempts to pass a new bill that would protect these patients are met with opposition whose arguments are unfounded. Medical cannabis sends the wrong message to the children is the rhetoric often encountered in Springfield, but in states that have medical cannabis laws, teen use rates have dropped. In the study, "Do medical cannabis laws encourage cannabis use?" published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, researchers found that usage among adults does not increase either after medical cannabis laws are passed. Illinois needs a medical cannabis program to protect these individuals who use this medication from arrest and having to turn to the black market for their relief. Dan Linn Executive Director Illinois NORML Chicago - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake