THE WONDER DRUG

As a person who has diabetes and arthritis for which I am prescribed
pain killers, an article in the Boston Globe this week peaked my
interest. Written by Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard Medical
School, it's titled "Marijuana As Wonder Drug."

The article focused on a new study in the Journal of Neurology being
hailed as unassailable proof that marijuana is a valuable medicine
saying, "It is a sad commentary on the state of modern medicine--and
US drug policy--that we still need 'proof' of something that medicine
has known for 5,000 years."

The recorded use of this medicine goes back to ancient times and
became a well established Western medicine whose versatility and
safety were unquestioned--safer than most medicines prescribed every
day. If marijuana were a new discovery rather than carrying so much
cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug. *

In the study, marijuana was found to be effective at relieving
extreme pain. Neuropathic pain is notoriously resistant to treatment
with conventional pain drugs. Even powerful and addictive narcotics
like morphine often provide little relief. This study leaves no doubt
that marijuana can safely ease the pain of millions of Americans
suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and arthritis.
It is also very effective at relieving nausea and vomiting, as well
as other debilitating illnesses.

Because all marijuana research in the US must be done using
government-supplied marijuana of very poor quality, the potential
benefits are probably underestimated.

This got me to thinking--What's behind the U.S. drug policy anyway?
So I decided to do a little research on the history of this "wonder
plant" and wouldn't you know...like most everything else today, all
you have to do is "Follow the Money."

But before I delve into the history of marijuana saga, I have to
mention a tragedy that occurred last week. A very sad commentary on
the state of healthcare in this country, or the lack thereof. If this
is not the best argument in favor of universal healthcare, I don't
know what is.

Last week a 12-year-old boy in Maryland died of a toothache. A
routine, $80 tooth extraction would have saved him. That is if his
family could have afforded it, or if his family had been insured, or
if his family had not lost Medicaid coverage due to budget cuts.

By the time he got any attention, in the emergency room, the bacteria
from the abscess had spread to his brain. After two operations and
six weeks in the hospital the boy died. The cost of his care exceeds $250,000.

Unfortunately, those without any insurance coverage are forced to use
the emergency room as their primary source of medical care. If
society is going to end up paying the tab anyway, what makes more
sense, preventive care, or crisis care? You do the math.

Now back to the wonder drug known worldwide as "cannabis or hemp,"
until the 1930s when it became known as marijuana.

Between 1850 and 1937, cannabis (marijuana) was widely used
throughout United States as a medicinal drug and could easily be
purchased in pharmacies and general stores.

Powerful Cannabis Extractum (hash oil) was widely known as a
non-toxic, non-addicting medicine. It had been the second most
commonly prescribed medication between the 1820s and the 1890s for
everything from baby's teething pains to Gramma's hot flashes without
a single documented case of addiction or fatal overdose.

The American Medical Association opposed the prohibition of cannabis
as a medicine, but in 1936, just before they enacted marijuana
prohibition, the US Congress was lied to and was told that the AMA
backed the prohibition. Most Americans had no idea that marijuana and
cannabis were the same drug. Through its association with minorities
in the newspapers, cannabis, a perfectly acceptable drug, was renamed
"marijuana," taken from the Mexican-Spanish word "marihuana." A
previously unheard of drug being used by evil, violent non-whites to
lure our women and children.

In opposition to the "Marijuana Tax Act of 1937," the American
Medical Association wrote, "There is no evidence that the medicinal
use of cannabis and its derivatives has caused or is causing cannabis
addiction. The prevention of the use for medicinal purposes can
accomplish no good end whatsoever. The obvious purpose of this bill
is to impose so many restrictions on their use as to prevent such use
altogether."

The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling to create a synthetic
version that could be produced in pill or serum form. Any rational
person would simply ask, "Why bother when it already exists in plant
form? Of course the answer is...medical marijuana is a threat to
pharmaceutical profiteering. Big Pharma pumps millions of dollars
into campaign coffers to ensure marijuana remains illegal and demonized.

The USDA approved a new drug called "Tysabri" for the treatment of
multiple sclerosis that affects 350,000 Americans. The cost of the
drug is guesstimated to cost between $20,000 and $30,000 per year.
Hmmm...300 million more reasons to keep medical marijuana illegal.

Many researchers agree that marijuana's illegal status has a direct
connection to the "gateway theory." Not because of the drug itself,
but because, in order to acquire it they are more likely to become
acquainted with people who sell other, more dangerous drugs. Some
contend that legalization would substantially reduce the use of more
dangerous drugs by taking the distribution of marijuana out of the
hands of criminals, and regulating it in a similar manner to alcohol
or tobacco.

As Paul Harvey says, stay tuned next week for "the rest of the story."

Just some food for thought