BALLOT BOX IS NOT THE WAY TO APPROVE MEDICINES

Putting medical use of marijuana on the ballot for a public vote is
both bad medicine and bad public policy. Voting to permit such use is
even worse. We require every other medicine to go through safety and
efficacy testing before approval for use. How can we exempt marijuana
from such testing?

Some supporters believe their own experience is proof enough that it
relieves pain but there is plenty of evidence that even a placebo can
relieve pain in some people. The difference between marijuana and a
placebo is we have better evidence about the harmful effects of
marijuana than we do about its potentially beneficial effects.

Some believe it should get a free pass because it's a natural product
but it's natural only as a plant, not as a natural participant in the
process of relieving pain. Do we seriously want to abandon the
progress we have made in medical science in favor of the ballot box as
the standard for choosing our medicines?

Joseph K. Andonian

Portage