MARIJUANA WORKS AS A MEDICINE

Kudos for your editorial support in favor of legally protecting
patients who use cannabis therapy under the guidance of their
physician ("Medical marijuana makes sense," June 7).

While authoring the recent publication, "Emerging Clinical
Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review of the
Scientific Literature" (NORML Foundation 2008), I reviewed more than
150 clinical and preclinical studies assessing the therapeutic value
of cannabis and its active compounds to treat symptoms - and in some
cases moderate disease progression - in a variety of illness,
including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, diabetes and
Lou Gehrig's disease. Nearly all of the studies cited in my work were
published within the past eight years.

Unlike many politicians and law enforcement officials, I frequently
interact with medical marijuana patients. Many of them write to me
daily, as do their physicians. Often they tell me stories like this:
"I was recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor inside the
left temporal lobe of my brain. I had surgery, and I've just started
chemotherapy and radiation. The surgeon actually apologized for the
fact that he could not write me a prescription for marijuana, but he
told me it was safe to smoke. ... Marijuana is saving my life right
now; it has helped to kill my seizures, nausea, dizziness, and calm
my headaches. If marijuana can help me with all my other problems in
addition to possibly reducing the size of my tumor and extending my
life, then why on earth would our government not allow me to have it?"

Why indeed?

Paul Armentano

Washington, D.C.

Armentano is deputy director of NORML and the NORML Foundation.