Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2014
Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
Copyright: 2014 Austin American-Statesman
Contact:  http://www.statesman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/32
Note: Letters MUST be 150 words or less
Author: Dana Milbank, Washington Post

WEED BE HAPPIER IF CONGRESS TOOK LEAF FROM POT ADVOCATES

Legal marijuana is spreading like a weed across the land, but it has 
yet to take root in the place where people might benefit most from 
inhaling: the U.S. Capitol.

The Maryland General Assembly finished work Monday on a marijuana 
decriminalization bill, joining two dozen other states and the 
district in some form of legalization. Colorado and Washington allow 
recreational pot, while most others have legalized only medical 
marijuana, but the combined campaign has redefined the meaning of a 
grass-roots movement.

Still, federal law hasn't budged, and a bill sponsored by Rep. Earl 
Blumenauer, D-Ore., that would recognize the medical value of 
marijuana has languished for a year; it has only 23 co-sponsors and 
no chance of passing. On Monday, when members of the pro-legalization 
Americans for Safe Access held their annual "lobby day" on Capitol 
Hill, not a single member of Congress granted them a personal audience.

Of course, the cannabis corps wasn't agitated about that. It isn't 
agitated about much of anything. This might have something to do with 
the fact that many of its members use marijuana.

The lobby day briefing, scheduled for 11 a.m., was pushed back to 
noon, at which point the host asked for a further five-minute delay. 
There were no complaints, perhaps because munchies had been provided 
- - potato chips and sandwiches, as well as Coca-Cola - and the 
crinkling of wrappers and crunching of chips could be heard 
throughout the event. If the pot proponents were any more laid back, 
they would have been horizontal.

In this sense, our perpetually warring lawmakers would have benefited 
from meeting with the legalization crowd, and perhaps trying some 
free samples. Our ever-indignant representatives need urgently to 
chill out and free their minds. If the benefits the medical marijuana 
advocates touted on Monday are real, Congress should immediately 
"reefer" the matter to committee to draft a "joint" resolution: 
Everybody must get stoned.

Jahan Marcu, a Ph.D. who gave the pharmacological portion of Monday's 
briefing, explained to me the mechanism by which medical marijuana, 
if consumed by a sufficient number of lawmakers, could cure our political ills.

"Cannabis acts upon a system in our body, and that system - the 
endocannabinoid system - regulates five things," said Marcu, who has 
long sideburns and wore an open-collar purple shirt. "It helps us to 
eat, sleep, relax, forget and protect."

Our leaders don't have much trouble eating, and whether they sleep 
well and are protected from cancer and other illnesses is not our 
concern. But getting them to relax and to forget? This could be most 
therapeutic.

Marcu said new research indicates that people who use marijuana 
perform better intellectually than those who drink alcohol or smoke 
tobacco. This suggests that if House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, 
were to switch vices from cigarettes and wine to pot, the body 
politic might be healthier.

Tests show that marijuana makes animals less sensitive to 
provocations such as a bell ringing. "If you ring it, they get 
freaked out," Marcu said. "If you give them a cannabinoid, they tend 
not to get freaked out."

In addition, cannabis might help lawmakers rise above the cycle of 
constant combat and revenge - much the way it helps soldiers overcome 
post-traumatic stress disorder. "That's one great thing about the 
endocannabinoid system," he said. "It's there to help you forget 
useless information or information that's harmful." Far out. At the 
briefing, the advocates took pains to demonstrate their 
professionalism. Most wore business attire and they spoke about 
manufacturing processes and growing standards.

"This is an industry that's in the maturation state," said Tim Smale, 
who runs a marijuana dispensary in Maine. "No longer do you see the 
hippies and the tie-dyes necessarily speaking." Still, a moment later 
he got on his knees and asked congressional staffers to help the 
cause. "I'm not opposed to begging," he said.

Mike Liszewski, Americans for Safe Access' policy director, described 
the increasing array of marijuana tinctures and lotions. "There are 
all kinds of ways to consume medical cannabis without smoking," he 
said, "although smoking actually does remain a very effective 
delivery system for many patients."

And so it could be for chronically dyspeptic lawmakers. Smoking dope 
won't necessarily stop them from making a hash of things. But it 
could hardly make things worse.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom