Pubdate: Sat, 13 Oct 2012 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2012 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://news.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Note: Prints only very short LTEs. Author: Kevin A. Sabet Note: Dr. Kevin A. Sabet, a Cambridge resident, was an official in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. He is an assistant professor and director of the Drug Policy Institute in the Medical School at the University of Florida. Question 3 Lights Up Medical Pot Debate SAY NO TO LAX, LEGAL NIGHTMARE Like many people, my family too has been hit by cancer. I have seen loved ones suffer the horrible side effects of a disease that kills millions of people a year worldwide. That is why Question 3, which voters will decide on Nov. 6, is such a complex issue. But the initiative has little to do with the truly sick and dying. Indeed, if passed, Question 3 would set up an extensive system of marijuana stores in our state, allow people to grow marijuana in their homes and apartments, and provide a defense to those carrying hundreds of joints under the guise of medicine. Worst of all, it would allow people to get marijuana for any condition, including headaches or stress. That is why a diverse range of state representatives - from Dorchester Democrat Martin Walsh to Sandwich Republican Randy Hunt - are standing with the Massachusetts Medical Society to oppose Question 3. They join a broad coalition of people, including Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic congressional candidate Joe Kennedy III, who will vote against Question 3. If the out-of-state millionaires who have funded Question 3 have their way, we would see marijuana being sold in stores by anyone over 21 years old without a drug felony conviction. They could sell marijuana in the form of baked goods or joints. There is no requirement in the law to have a physician or licensed pharmacist on site. Meanwhile, the proposed law offers no immunity from federal prosecution, since marijuana has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for medical use. In fact, smoked marijuana has failed all standard scientific tests that determine what can be sold as medicine in this country. But it is not just about storefront pot purveyors. Your neighbors could grow marijuana plants in their backyard, on their veranda, in their window flower boxes. There are simply not enough restrictions to prevent widespread abuse. In fact, in states with similar laws, the average "patient" is a 32-year-old white male with no history of life-threatening illness and a history of drug and alcohol abuse. In those states with similar laws, less than 5 percent of state medical marijuana users have cancer, HIV, or other life threatening diseases. For this group of the truly ill, we should have medical marijuana - the right way. Let's have it available in pharmacies and in non-smoked forms. Let's rewrite the law so that marijuana would only be available for people with life-threatening conditions if their own doctor has determined nothing else works to alleviate their suffering. Unfortunately, Question 3 does not even come close to doing that. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom