In addition to DEA Administrative Judge Mary Ellen Bittner's non-binding recommendation that Professor Lyle Craker be allowed to grow cannabis for research purposes ( see http://www.doctortom.org/archives/2007/02/a_little_known.html ), a second cannabis-related medical milestone was reached this week: a paper from the University of California Medical School in San Francisco reporting that inhaled cannabis significantly reduced AIDS-related neuropathic pain in a small, but carefully controlled series of human subjects, was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Neurology ( see http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/1667_11275.shtml ). Of the two events, the latter seems more likely to have both immediate and lasting impact on drug policy. There is also a decent possibility that the almost simultaneous announcement of the two events might have a synergistic effect by deterring Bittner's DEA superiors from rejecting her recommendation as they would otherwise be certain to do. [continues 499 words]
Data From the Author's Practice Show That Many Californians Use Cannabis to Treat Emotional Conditions. Government Studies Obscure This Reality and Some Reformers Seem Reluctant to Acknowledge It. In response to TV news footage of able-bodied young men buying cannabis in Oakland, city officials voted in 2004 to limit the number of dispensaries. The politicians were exploiting (and re-enforcing) a misconception that California's medical marijuana law applies only to those with serious physical illnesses. Many of my own patients are seemingly able-bodied young men. Their histories reveal problems that are indeed serious (impaired functionality at school and/or work, use of addictive drugs) and that are treated effectively with cannabis. [continues 3348 words]
To the Editor: The theme of "The Case for Drinking (All Together Now: In Moderation!)" (Dec. 31) is that with alcohol, as with any drug, dose determines result. Because alcohol is also used compulsively by many, the article invites an examination of our drug policy, which insists that since any use of arbitrarily designated "drugs of abuse" inevitably leads to addiction, all use must remain illegal. The dirty little secret is that most people who have tried illegal drugs didn't become addicts or even heavy users. Those who did usually solved the problem on their own or with a modicum of professional help. The hopeless junkie, like the skid row bum, represents the extreme end of a very broad spectrum. Perhaps there would be fewer of each if our policies were more in tune with reality. It's not drugs that are so dangerous; it's how society insists they be used. Dr. Tom O'Connell San Mateo, Calif. [end]
Editor -- Your trenchant analysis of school testing scores sees through hype and confusion to point out what it really comes down to: poverty. It's not difficult to see the important role played by our drug war in the transfer of wealth from the lowest rungs of the economic ladder to the very highest. Increased policing, prison construction and a greatly expanded prison population have all siphoned money away from education and health care while at the same time serving to keep the targeted populations mired in poverty. TOM O'CONNELL San Mateo [end]
The History Of An Internet Activist Prototype DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/ and its largest endeavor, the Media Awareness Project (MAP) http://www.mapinc.org/ could be considered a prototypical Internet activist IT (Information Technology) organization it was planned, created, and put into operation at a time (late 1996) when that acronym would have drawn blank stares from most. It was formed by principals in widely scattered geographical locations who, with but a single exception, were known to each other only through email. [continues 2628 words]
Since the drug war hasn't been questioned, the implication is that it's so firmly agreed upon, there's no need to raise it as an issue. This politically correct view may be comfortable for candidates and the media, but an increasing number of Americans see drug prohibition as a failed policy which is doing far more to fill prisons than limit drug use; they want it openly discussed, along with alternative strategies. It now seems likely that rich political scions, each with a drug-use skeleton in his youthful closet, will receive the major nominations. They'll both have a lot more trouble ducking the drug policy issue for the simple reason that as politicians themselves, they've been staunch supporters of punitive laws which -- had they been less privileged -- could easily have saddled them with felony arrest records and kept them permanently out of politics. Tom O'Connell, MD, San Mateo Bookmark: MAP's link to California articles is: http://www.mapinc.org/states/ca [end]
