THERE ARE LEGAL DRUGS THAT BETTER RELIEVE NAUSEA, PAIN

In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration issued a report stating
that there are "no sound scientific studies supporting the medical
use of marijuana ... and no data to support the safety of marijuana."

The American Medical Association has recommended that marijuana be
retained as a Schedule I controlled substance which is a drug that
has high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use,
and has a lack of acceptable safety. Even former Sen. Bill Frist has
weighed in on the matter, stating "based on current evidence, I
believe that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less
dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other
medical symptoms."

What the FDA, AMA and many physicians including Frist are saying is
that marijuana is not better than current FDA-approved drugs, and is
not safe. Is this really true? Yes. Studies indicate that we have
better drugs for nausea, appetite and pain.

Even in the worst of chemotherapy regimens, oncologists can control
up to 90 percent of vomiting with anti-nausea drugs without any need
of "rescue medicines." With the institution of FDA-approved rescue
medicines, oncologists can get nearly 100 percent control of nausea
and vomiting. Furthermore, hormone-related treatments have been shown
to be better than marijuana for appetite stimulation, and marijuana
has the pain-relief ability equal to codeine; i.e., we have much
better pain medicines than marijuana.

Many of our patients have real physical, emotional, social and
spiritual problems. We have a process to help them address their
needs, a regimen of medicines and a team of social workers, support
groups and pastoral counselors. We want our patients to be healthy,
autonomous people who interact socially, engage with life, and remain
active. Illegal drugs tend to do the opposite: They make patients
withdrawn, isolated, less active and engaged. Ultimately, they do
more harm than good.

Marijuana also puts society at risk for a tragic car accident on the
way to the office. Politicians do not understand the medical research
or the clinical risks of marijuana. So why do they continue to push
for its legalization? Perhaps some are well-intentioned and
misguided, but perhaps others wish to use this issue as a stepping
stone to promote a broader drug culture.

In the end, any effort to legalize marijuana for medical purposes is
an arrogant effort to circumvent the process that keeps citizens like
you and me safe. This process is overseen by the FDA, and the FDA has
stated unambiguously that marijuana is not effective and is not safe.

To borrow a line from the Supreme Court, "medicine by regulation is
better than medicine by referendum." While our regulatory bodies have
their flaws, they are certainly preferred to a process of drugs by
vote. Our legislators should not approve a drug that our system of
clinicians and scientists have deemed ineffective and unsafe.