CLAIMS AGAINST MARIJUANA LEGISLATION ARE DISTORTED

Dr. John T. McDonnell's pronouncements on the pending medical marijuana
legislation (Island Voices, Feb. 28) are so filled with misinformation and
distortions that they demand rebuttal.

The proposed legislation does not contravene federal laws against
marijuana. It merely calls for the protection of bona fide patients and
their doctors from arrest and prosecution by state and county authorities,
who are neither expected nor required to enforce federal laws.

Furthermore, contrary to McDonnell's claim, the proposed law does not allow
sale or distribution of marijuana by anyone, including patients.

McDonnell's references to "prescribing" marijuana suggest that he has not
even read the legislation that he denounces. Nowhere is the word
"prescribe" used in the bill. Physicians may recommend, but not prescribe,
mainly because there is no pharmacy that could fill those prescriptions.

McDonnell stretches the truth when he claims that in the states that have
passed similar legislation, doctors will not prescribe marijuana as
medicine. Since none of the bills call for "prescription," that is true.
However, numerous doctors in the six states where medical marijuana is
legal are recommending this natural herb as medicine in conditions that can
be helped by it.

When the doctor asserts that "we don't really know" whether there are
therapeutic uses of marijuana, he ignores a vast scientific literature on
the subject, as well as more recent data compiled from personal experiences
of thousands of patients. That the scientific studies are "decades old" is
true, but only because the DEA has blocked all efforts to conduct studies
since 1980. As a surgeon with more than 40 years of experience, I have
recommended marijuana where appropriate and have seen its effectiveness.

The claims that "we have many effective drugs to ease suffering ... we
know the risks and benefits of taking them. That's the beauty of our drug
approval system..." fails to acknowledge that properly administered,
FDA-approved prescription drugs kill over 100,000 people each year in the
United States while there has never been a reported death from marijuana
during its 5,000 years of medicinal use.

People of Hawaii whose pain and nausea can be relieved by marijuana cannot
wait to join nonexistent clinical trials. They need relief as well as
protection now.

According to a recent poll, 77 percent of registered voters in Hawaii
support the proposed medical marijuana bill.

Hopefully, our legislators have the compassion and courage to pass the bill
now before them.

William B. Wenner, M.D.
Volcano, Big Island