STOP LOCKING UP THOSE WHO USE MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

In her April 8 letter to the editor ["Approve medicinal use of marijuana"],
Ellen Atkins pointed out the federal government denies "seriously ill
people access to an herb that can alleviate their pain and suffering." This
is not entirely accurate. The federal government contradicts itself on this
issue.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has classified cannabis as a Schedule 1
Drug, which means that it recognizes no medical benefit from its
consumption. One of my friends, however, receives a monthly supply of 300
prerolled cannabis cigarettes, courtesy of the federal government and our
tax dollars.

My friend has a rare genetic disorder called Nail Patella Syndrome, which
causes bone deformities and painful spasticity. His doctors state that were
it not for his supply of government cannabis, which controls the spasms and
controls his nausea, he would probably already be dead.

He has already lived 10 years beyond the life expectancy for people with
his disorder, and although he smokes 10 cigarettes a day, he remains
eloquent and lucid as he travels the nation speaking to legislators,
educators, and law enforcement officials.

He can smoke his medicine in any state of the union and cannot be arrested
for his possession or consumption of medical marijuana. He was admitted to
the Compassionate Use Program, which was implemented under Ronald Reagan
but discontinued during George Herbert Walker Bush's tenure, when the
program was flooded with applicants from AIDS patients.

Nevertheless, the government still distributes marijuana to eight U.S.
citizens, and every taxpayer helps to fund it. It is not surprising that
the DEA refuses to acknowledge any medical benefits from cannabis, but
other branches of the government are not as militant or dogmatic about the
issue.

It is time for our government to stop imprisoning sick and dying patients.
Politicians and law enforcement officials are not doctors and scientists,
and pharmacology should not be manipulated by a political agenda.

Christopher Largen

The Colony, Texas