PRESCRIBING MARIJUANA IS NOT 'GOOD MEDICINE'

Re medical marijuana is ``humane'' per The Herald's June 2 editorial: Toni
Leeman of the Coalition Advocating Medical Marijuana comments that the
National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine released a report that
finds medical uses for marijuana.

John A. Benson Jr., principal investigator of the institute's report,
concluded, ``While we see a future in the development of chemically defined
cannabinoid drugs, we see little future in smoked marijuana as a
medicine.'' He also said: ``Marijuana's medical effects are generally
modest, and for most symptoms there are more-effective medicines already
available on the market. . .. For patients who do not respond well to other
medications, however, short-term marijuana use appears to be suitable in
treating conditions like chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, or the
wasting caused by AIDS.''

This should be tempered by other findings.

In an April 7,1997 letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, Donald
Tashkin, M.D. of UCLA, wrote; ``Although it is true that smoking marijuana
carries no immediate risk of death, there may be serious adverse effects in
the very patients for whom medicinal marijuana is most often considered. .
..''

The institute report found that data do not support the contention that
marijuana should be used to treat glaucoma, one of its frequently cited
medical applications. Smoked marijuana can reduce some eye pressure
associated with glaucoma, but only for a short period of time. These
short-term effects do not outweigh the hazards associated with regular
long-term use of the drug. With the exception of muscle spasms in multiple
sclerosis, there is little evidence of its potential for treating movement
disorders like Parkinson's disease, the report says.

Contrary to Ms. Leeman's contention that the public should ``educate'' the
politicians with their votes, the chemistry, safety and efficacy of a
potential medicine should be determined in the laboratory, not at the
ballot box. Compassion that harms is cruelty.

WAYNE J. ROQUES
Pembroke Pines