MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE

A Report Challenges Simplistic Opposition To The Idea

Anti-drug activists fear the day that pharmaceutical instructions
will read: "Take one in the morning and one at bedtime and don't
Bogart that joint."

If reason and compassion trumped politics, their fears would be
realized.

The evidence continues to pile up that under certain conditions and
for certain patients, smoking marijuana can have a medically
beneficial function.

It is particularly effective in stopping nausea and boosting appetite
and has therefore been sought after by some cancer patients hoping to
relieve the side effects of chemotherapy and AIDS patients trying to
ward off debilitating weight loss. It is also useful in diminishing
muscle spasms that afflict individuals with multiple sclerosis.

The latest verification of the potential medical benefits of marijuana
came from the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy
of Sciences, which conducted the exhaustive two-year study at the
behest of the federal government. The review also found no evidence
that marijuana leads to the use of harder drugs.

The 11 scientists who issued the report cautioned that the identified
benefits of the drug are limited by the toxic effects of the smoke,
which they found to be potentially more dangerous than cigarette
smoke. And they said that eventually an effective alternative delivery
system (maybe a patch or inhalant) should be developed.

But in the meantime, the panel felt that it is justified to prescribe
marijuana in carefully circumscribed circum stances for individuals
who cannot find relief through other sources.

The government, so invested in a drug war that has targeted marijuana
as an irredeemable enemy, is unlikely to be moved by the new
evidence. A polite thank you and an acknowledgment that more study is
necessary is the standard response.

Opponents of the medical use of marijuana argue that some who champion
that cause are really interested in an across-the-board legalization.
That is no doubt true. But the motives of proponents do not make a
good idea bad.

Anti-drug crusaders also fear that any recognition of a positive use
for marijuana will send adolescents into a pot-smoking frenzy. "It
sends the wrong message" is the refrain. But what kind of message are
we sending when we let thousands of people suffer who could otherwise
be helped?

Maturing means understanding nuances and contexts, and parents must
help their children in developing those higher level skills. That
means it's OK for Mom and Dad to have a glass of wine at dinner, but
not OK for their 14-year-old son to go on a beer-drinking binge with
friends. It's OK to administer morphine and other narcotics to sick
people, but not OK to shoot up in the alley. It's OK to give
marijuana to an AIDS patient who is wasting away, but not OK to give
it to a 15-year-old at a party.

That's not a terribly complex dichotomy to explain. And the payoff for
thousands whose suffering can be alleviated is unquestionably worth
it.