Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 2009
Source: Daily Northwestern (IL Edu)
Copyright: 2009 The Daily Northwestern
Contact:  http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/109
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Hopefully, the Illinois State Senate will vote on and pass a bill 
this week that will legalize medical marijana in the state of 
Illinois. Following in the footsteps of 13 other states, the Illinois 
legislature will vote on a tightly written bill that provides for a 
three-year pilot program and a ban on driving cars for registered 
cannabis users.

While critics suggest the bill's passage could throw the state down 
the slippery slope of increased youth drug usage and even the 
eventual legalization of all marijuana in all cases, frankly, the 
chance that the downfall of Illinois' state structure will collapse 
because of these lawmakers' decisions is minimal. Crime rates in 
states that have passed the bill, including California (where a much 
more loosely written bill passed almost a year ago), suggest that the 
disastrous results presaged by anti-marijuana advocates are seriously unlikely.

Those who will potentially benefit from the bill are those patients 
who suffer from chronic pain and nausea, ailments for which in many 
cases cannabis is the only relief from constant agony. The most 
likely patients are those suffering from patients with cancer, 
HIV-AIDS, hepatitis C, glaucoma, Crohn's disease and Alzheimers, 
according to a CBS 2 news report. If the bill passes, they will be 
allowed to possess a maximum of seven marijuana plants.

History has proven that drug arrests don't go up in states that pass 
medical marijuana laws. And legislative proponents of the bill have 
publicly stated that their efforts are only aimed at medical issues, 
and have nothing to do with wider legalization.

The moral issues of withholding pain medication in any form from 
dying patients aside, other perscription medicines have much worse 
side effects. The legislature, which has been delaying this vote for 
months, should remember that the people they are trying to help might 
not have enough time to wait.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom