CANNABIS NOT HARMFUL

Paul Armentano asks in his letter on Thursday, Nov. 8, "Why is
cannabis being withheld from patients if it has all these positive
effects?"

This question is answered with one word: euphoria.

Believe it or not, euphoria is the only side effect in U.S. medicine
that is absolutely intolerable. Pain medications are regularly
withheld from patients based upon worries that they might "enjoy it."

If one listens to the warnings on any given pharmaceutical that is
advertised on morning or evening national news programs, one finds
politically tolerable side effects that range from dry eyes or mouth to
gastrointestinal distress, including inability to hold bowel movements
until one reaches the toilet, and even death. That's right, death. Our
old favorite acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol, causes big
problems, according to the National Institutes of Health:
"Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause for calls to Poison
Control Centers (100,000/year) and accounts for more than 56,000
emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458
deaths due to acute liver failure each year."

But these advertised pharmaceuticals and OTC pain relievers don't
deliver any euphoria, save that of being relieved from one's pain or
other medical condition. Unless, of course, the substance does not
kill or injure one first (read the fine print on packaging) - for
example, destroying one's liver, in the case of acetaminophen.

Cannabis, on the other hand, is not known to be dangerous, except to
one's future employment prospects. It does not kill as a direct result
of its use, nor does it cause lung cancer or brain tumors, despite the
decades of awful lies told about it in service to the war on illegal
drug users.

But it does provide a fleeting and artificial euphoria, and for this
reason alone, it must be suppressed at every turn. It must be lied
about, impugned and mischaracterized on a consistent, unrelenting
basis, lest some sympathy for the sick and dying show.

Cannabis prohibition does not have anything to do with health
concerns. It only serves to keep euphoria within the realm of Big
Religion, which claims it as its own exclusive territory.

Do you have some other justification that would see Viagra advertised
at dinnertime (talk about artificial euphoria!), beer and wine
existing with impunity, and efficacious medicine withheld from the
sick and dying (such as OTC cough medicine requiring ID with purchase
limits and shared information about purchases among local cough
medicine outlets)?

Eric Johnson

Los Angeles