MARIJUANA JUST ANOTHER PAIN RELIEVER

Editor's note: In 1996, California voters legalized medical marijuana
clubs. There is a movement in Santa Barbara to create such a club.

What are people supposed to do if they are deathly ill and the pain
relievers their doctors have prescribed do not seem to be effective? What
if the pain they suffer is hindering their lifestyle and making life
unbearable?

I believe that under these circumstances a person should not be denied
relief. Some doctors have a simple solution: marijuana.

For years, pot has been placed in the same category as cocaine and other
narcotics, but these days people are starting to look at it from a
different point of view. They see the drug as a medicine. I see it just as
another pain reliever. I believe that if I were in a great deal of pain, I
would most likely want to use marijuana if I knew it would ease the pain.

Some people have tried other remedies and found them ineffective, so I
believe that if marijuana works, then they should be allowed to use it for
medical purposes.

Marijuana has been used for treating these diseases: glaucoma, AIDS,
migraine headaches, multiple sclerosis, scleroderma, Crohn's Disease and
post-traumatic stress disorder. A report from the Institute of Medicine
says that there is a "potential therapeutic value for cannabinoid drugs,
particularly for .CA.CA. pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and
appetite stimulation."

There are more than 30 medical conditions that are helped by marijuana, and
some people even see its use as an alternative to assisted suicide.

An alternative that some doctors use is a drug called Marinol. It has
marijuana's basic psychoactive components, but it is hard to keep down for
nauseous patients; some find it ineffective, while others find it too
strong. Doctors, as well as patients, have found that it is harder to
regulate the dosage, and the medicine is also very expensive at $10 a
tablet. In addition, Marinol is not covered by health insurance.

I don't think that it should be the government's decision to tell people
they can't use marijuana for medical purposes. So far, only seven other
states -- Maine, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington
- -- have passed laws, by ballot initiatives, to allow the use of marijuana
for medicinal purposes. However, in 28 other states measures have been
considered.

Though marijuana causes dizziness, mild withdrawal symptoms and the
potential for lung damage, it still doesn't have the harmful effects of
heavy drug use, which often takes people's lives. Yet, for some reason, the
government believes that marijuana is a dangerous drug.

Even though my friends and I do not use marijuana, I do not see why
governments should have the right to ban a substance that could help the
pain very sick people experience. They think that they have the right to
tell an ill person that he cannot use an actual medicine that works, just
because government officials consider marijuana too dangerous.

Jonny Black, 14, is a ninth-grader at Santa Barbara High School.

Be heard

Young Voices is a column written by Santa Barbara County young people, ages
21 and under.

Columns should be typed and 500 to 700 words long. Submissions, with a
school photo, can be mailed to City Editor Jesse Chavarria at 715 Anacapa
St., Santa Barbara 93102, or faxed to 966-6258.