Let doctors, patients decide on marijuana First published: Wednesday, June 27, 2007
While there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and it helps them feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality of life issue best left to patients and their doctors. Federal bureaucrats waging war on noncorporate drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. The federal government's prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors are not well-suited to dictate health care decisions.
It's long past time that Congress showed some leadership on the issue and passed legislation reaffirming the Constitution's 10th Amendment guarantee of states' rights. States that prefer to cage sick patients for daring to feel better can continue to do so. The more enlightened states that have passed compassionate-use legislation should not be stymied by a federal government that really should have better things to do.
ROBERT SHARPE Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Arli
Again, may I state....if you need to smoke pot for medical purposes...don't go to the doctors. Just ask your kids who sells it in school or just hang around any school long enough and you'll see your supplier. It's as easy as that!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Study: Pot obstructs air flow worse than tobacco BY RAY LILLEY The Associated Press
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A single joint of marijuana obstructs the flow of air as much as smoking up to five tobacco cigarettes, but long-term pot use does not increase the risk of developing emphysema, new research suggests. The study by New Zealand’s Medical Research Institute found that longtime pot smokers can develop symptoms of asthma and bronchitis, along with obstruction of the large airways and excessive lung inflation. The paper was released Tuesday ahead of its publication in the journal Thorax. “The study shows that one cannabis joint causes a similar degree of lung damage as between 2.5 and five tobacco cigarettes,” said lead author Sarah Aldington. However, the researchers found that the progressive chronic lung disease emphysema, often associated with cigarette smoking, was uncommon among marijuana smokers. Only 1.3 percent of the long-term pot smokers were found to have signs of the disease compared to 16.3 percent of those who combined marijuana and tobacco, and 18.9 percent of those who only smoked tobacco. Marijuana smokers had symptoms that included wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and phlegm — all of which were associated with tobacco smokers, except chest tightness. The study, which used lung function tests, high-resolution X-rays and questionnaires, also revealed that among marijuana smokers damage occurred to the small, fine airways, which are important for taking in oxygen and removing waste gases. The extent of damage rose in proportion to the number of joints smoked. Last week, another study published in The Lancet medical journal suggested that using marijuana may increase the likelihood of becoming psychotic, with even infrequent use potentially raising the overall small risk by up to 40 percent. The three-year Thorax study involved 339 people in New Zealand, where pot smoking is fairly common. An estimated 160 million people use marijuana worldwide. Participants were recruited into four groups based on smoking habits — nonsmokers, tobaccoonly smokers, tobacco and marijuana smokers, and marijuana-only smokers. To qualify as a long-term marijuana user, participants had to have smoked a minimum of one joint a day for five years, said institute director Richard Beasley, who also participated in the study. Tobacco users had to have smoked a pack a day for one year. Earlier studies have shown that smoking one joint results in three to five times more carbon monoxide and tar inhaled than smoking a cigarette of the same size. The New Zealand research also showed that the “products of combustion” in marijuana are very similar to tobacco, Beasley said. Part of the reason for this is the way joints are smoked, with users often inhaling and holding the smoke in longer for a better hit.
McNulty made right call on medical marijuana First published: Saturday, September 1, 2007
Although the Maurice Hinchey bill to prevent DEA enforcement against states that have approved use of medical marijuana was voted down 262-165, I am proud to see that my representative, Mike McNulty, voted for the bill.
Most of Mr. McNulty's colleagues in Congress showed themselves to be out of touch on this issue with mainstream America, as most polls on the subject show a 70 percent approval rating for the use of medical marijuana.
While the defeat is a temporary setback, I am glad to have someone as thoughtful as Mr. McNulty representing me in Washington.
I guess Mike condones drug abuse, everyone who has a prescription for medical marijuana is not really sick and just cons their doctor into making it legal for them to smoke the stuff by writing them a prescription.
I know people who do that with legal drugs. They claim they have back pain, which is hard to diagnose, and they are given pain medication. I have heard, right from some of these people, that that is the way they aquire the drugs they need. They just claim 'chronic back pain'. Sweet, huh?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
It's not really the tip of the iceberg senders, as I knew people that were doing this back in the 80's! Guess it still works, huh?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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