ASSERTIONS FULL OF PROPAGANDA, BAD DATA

Jeannette McDougal's column ("Real buzz on medical marijuana: toxic, bad"
Aug. 20) is yet another litany of ill-informed assertions on the supposed
dangers of medical marijuana based on propaganda and misinformation. To
address some of her comments:

* Patients aren't seeking the "high" that THC provides, but rather relief
from pain, nausea and spasticity, as described in a 1999 Institute of
Medicine report commissioned by the national drug czar. Most patients
prefer the smoked version to the pill because relief occurs immediately,
and they can stop when symptoms abate. Many researchers believe the whole
form of cannabis may be more effective than an extract because of the
interactions of its components.

* The physician liability issue is moot for two reasons: Courts have deemed
it a free-speech right to recommend pot, and it has been declared one of
the "safest therapeutically active substances known to man" (in a 1988 Drug
Enforcement Agency ruling). Six thousand people die from aspirin each year.
No death from marijuana ever has been reported.

* As for social effects: Driving under the influence of drugs remains
illegal. In California, since the 1996 referendum legalizing medical
marijuana, federal surveys find that kids' use of pot is lower than the
national average. Secondhand smoke is easy to deal with: Go to another room
or outside.

Medical marijuana is a safe and effective medicine in use for 10,000 years.
To see this one must look beyond decades of propaganda as the Canadians
have done.

Pamela Lichty
Vice President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i