Pubdate: Mon, 02 Sep 2013
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2013 Creators Syndicate
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Debra J. Saunders, Creators Syndicate
Page: 7B

IT'S HIGH TIME TO WHACK WEED WAR

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta admitted last month, during the rollout for 
his documentary "Weed," that he had been wrong in his opposition to 
medical marijuana. Gupta reported on research that demonstrated the 
proven benefits of marijuana in treating neuropathic pain. Medical 
marijuana was the only drug that helped a 5-year-old girl with Dravet 
syndrome live without constant seizures. It calmed the constant 
hiccuping of a 19-year-old. Israelis use it to treat Parkinson's 
disease and other ailments.

Gupta took on the federal government's classification of marijuana as 
a Schedule I drug - drugs that have no accepted medical use but have 
a high potential for abuse. (Heroin also is a Schedule I drug. 
Methamphetamine is Schedule II.) Gupta now believes that 
classification is an outrage.

The doctor didn't say marijuana is all good. He cited research that 
found that regular use by teens can lead to a permanent decrease in 
IQ. But Gupta could find no documented case of a death from a 
marijuana overdose, whereas someone dies every 19 minutes from a 
prescription drug overdose. The Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention estimates that 80,000 Americans die each year from 
excessive alcohol use.

Last month, Gupta's sentiments were echoed on the right when 
columnist Charles Krauthammer, a former psychiatrist, told Fox News 
that alcohol is much more harmful than marijuana. Quoth Krauthammer: 
"If I were starting a society from scratch and had to choose the 
intoxicant, I would outlaw alcohol and I'd allow marijuana." (Side 
note: But seeing as he can't reset the world, Krauthammer said he 
wouldn't legalize pot.)

Gupta's about-face might well signal a sea change in how this country 
looks at marijuana. Gupta told CNN's Erin Burnett that he used to 
look at medical marijuana advocates as "malingerers" who are "just 
looking to get high." But he came to see that cannabis not only helps 
severely ill people, but also averts the dangerous side effects of 
more potent pharmaceuticals.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy announced late last month that 
his committee will hold a hearing Sept. 10 about the correct federal 
response to state laws - including Nevada's - legalizing the use of 
medical marijuana and, in the cases of Washington and Colorado, 
recreational use of marijuana.

Is President Barack Obama paying attention? Reporter Jessica Yellin 
asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest last week whether the 
administration was considering changing marijuana's Schedule I 
designation. Earnest responded with a long-winded no.

Appearing before the American Bar Association recently, Attorney 
General Eric Holder delivered a speech that was supposed to signal 
big changes in the administration's approach to nonviolent drug offenders.

But he didn't mention marijuana enforcement, even though his 
Department of Justice has waged a ruthless war against medical 
marijuana dispensaries. Federal prosecutors have not only sent 
registered California dispensary operators to prison, but have also 
gone after their landlords, their bankers and contractors.

Listen to Gupta and Krauthammer, and it's fair to surmise that 
marijuana is the least harmful of all controlled substances. It's 
less toxic than alcohol, which is legal. It's less lethal than 
prescription drugs.

So why is Washington still waging a war on weed?
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom