Dr. Dora Ann Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that, "There are no valid studies that show marijuana effectively treats the many conditions most proponents purport." But over the past 10 years, 23 studies have appeared in peer-reviewed journals demonstrating the efficacy of marijuana as a treatment for conditions ranging from neuropathic pain in HIV patients to bladder dysfunction in advanced multiple sclerosis. Even if Mills disagrees with the conclusions of these studies, she should respect the ability of other physicians to make their own informed choices about the best ways to treat patients suffering from debilitating diseases. [continues 145 words]
Why Isn't Mancuso Being Extradited? On December 11, Stewart Tuttle, head of the Political Affairs division of the U.S. Embassy in Bogota looked on as Salvatore Mancuso, commander of Colombia's largest and most brutal network of right-wing death squads, ceremonially surrendered his Berretta to Colombian Peace Commissioner Carlos Luis Restrepo. But Tuttle and his superiors were strangely silent a week later when the government of President Alvaro Uribe announced that it would not extradite Mancuso to the U.S. to face cocaine trafficking and money laundering charges as long as the death squad leader agreed to "cease all illegal activities" and encourage other paramilitaries to take part in the government's demobilization process. While the U.S. hasn't formally dropped its extradition request, neither the U.S. Embassy nor the U.S. State Department has issued a public statement about Uribe's decision to delay or cancel Mancuso's handover to U.S. authorities -- which is highly unusual to say the least, given that Mancuso is the head of a terrorist organization and is accused of conspiring to smuggle over seventeen tons of cocaine to the U.S. and Europe. [continues 1034 words]
