Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jun 2014
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Andy Gaus
Page: 18
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n500/a08.html

IN PRAISE OF POT

Cannabis has been used as a medicine since ancient times - long 
before the Herald began publishing. And exciting research continues 
apace, including possible treatments for those suffering from certain 
cancers. Yet a Herald editorial can only speak of "medical" 
marijuana, instead of simply leaving out the quote marks ("Congress 
goes to pot," June 9). And the Herald sarcastically calls the 
patients seeking marijuana "poor souls whose extreme medical 
conditions can only be treated with a toke or two." Why not just say 
that there are patients for whom cannabis in some form is the best treatment?

No one is "pushing the notion that marijuana is a cure-all for every 
ailment," as the Herald claims. Some of us are asking the paper to 
stop sneering at those patients - many dealing with severe chronic 
pain - who find that marijuana is a valuable medicine that gives them 
very real relief from very real medical problems.

- - Andy Gaus, Boston
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom