Pubdate: Mon, 06 Jul 2009
Source: Keene Sentinel (NH)
Copyright: 2009 Keene Publishing Corporation.
Contact:  http://sentinelsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/223
Author: Dennis Action

MY EXPERIENCE SHOWS WHY MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAKES SENSE, BY CANCER
SURVIVOR DENNIS ACTION

I am a cancer survivor and medical marijuana activist -  and a
Republican. I am being featured in a 30 second ad  on WMUR telling
about my experience when I was fighting  cancer.

Doing this ad has been pretty traumatic. The last thing  I wanted to
do is become a poster boy for this  movement, especially as a
Republican. My wife is  horrified, my friends are asking what the heck
I am  doing, and the true impact of going on TV and admitting  drug
use has yet to play out.

As a committed Republican activist, it has not been  easy coming
forward and describing my experience with  cancer and medical
marijuana. I kept quiet for years  after I successfully used marijuana
to relieve my  nausea when expensive prescription drugs had failed. I 
didn't want this on my medical records, and I certainly  didn't want
everyone to know that I had to break the  law to find an effective
treatment.

I only recently came forward because I strongly believe  that HB 648,
which recently passed the N.H. House and  Senate, should become law in
New Hampshire. The bill  would create the most tightly crafted medical
marijuana  law in the country, and it will probably be used as a 
model for other states that want to allow access but  are concerned
about ensuring accountability and  security. All legitimate concerns
about how the  cultivation and dispensation of marijuana can be 
controlled are addressed in the final version of the  bill, which will
soon make its way to Gov. John Lynch's  desk.

Unfortunately, most Republican leaders have been  unwilling to
reconsider our party's longstanding  opposition to medical marijuana.
A large majority of  Republicans I have spoken to are in favor of the
bill,  yet our leaders have dismissed the effort entirely.

A 2008 poll by Mason-Dixon Research found that 56  percent of New
Hampshire Republicans supported allowing  medical marijuana, while
only 32 percent opposed it, so  the disconnect between rank-and-file
Republicans and  leadership on this issue can't be all in my head. The
 same poll found that 71 percent of all New Hampshire  voters support
medical marijuana, so it's obvious that  opposing medical marijuana
can only hurt Republicans at  the polls and further alienate us from
younger voters.

My own experience shows that medical marijuana is  fiscally
responsible. I replaced a $1,600 prescription  that didn't work that
well with $50 worth of marijuana.  Passage of this bill would give
seriously ill patients  access to a more affordable option to treat
their  symptoms, possibly saving programs like Medicare and  Medicaid
many thousands of dollars.

Allowing patients access to this medicine will also  reduce the need
for expensive and dangerous painkillers  such as Oxycontin and
Demerol. No one has ever  overdosed on marijuana, while the CDC
counted 19,838  drug-overdose deaths in 2004, up from 11,155 in 1999. 
Most of these deaths were from legally prescribed  medications, some
available over the counter. By  reducing the need for these hard drugs
to control pain,  nausea and other ailments, medical marijuana can
reduce  these tragic numbers significantly.

We also should remember the needs of those who have  faced painkiller
addiction in the past and can't use  these drugs anymore to relieve
their suffering. Many  admit that marijuana works for them, but they
too must  break the law to use a less dangerous and nonaddictive 
herbal medicine.

If this bill does become law, New Hampshire will have a  medical
marijuana program that is responsible and  well-managed. The senators
and representatives who  sponsored and wrote this bill have worked
tirelessly to  ensure that the program will work and should be 
commended for their efforts.

It is wrong to think that the compassion centers called  for in this
bill will be like the clubs in California,  where abuse of their
medical marijuana law has hurt  efforts to provide access in the rest
of the country.  The sole purpose of HB 648 is to provide relief to a 
small group of severely and terminally ill patients in  our
communities, and it will achieve that purpose if  Governor Lynch
simply allows it to become law.

This shouldn't be about politics. It should be about  doing the right
thing. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr