MEDICINAL MARIJUANA LAW IS TOO RESTRICTIVE

Viagra and tobacco are "OK" (Muse letter, Aug. 10) because they are
products pedaled by enormous industries whose lobbyists are permitted
by our representatives to determine our national policies. I believe
the major force behind the continued criminalization of marijuana use
is the pharmaceutical industry -- the largest drug pushers in the
U.S.A. -- whose interests are served by denying people access to an
herb with many beneficial uses.

I suffer from chronic pain partially due to a surgeon's poor skill. I
have suspected that marijuana might ease that pain, but Maine's
medical marijuana law is extremely restrictive, and chronic pain is
not a category for which a physician can prescribe marijuana, a plant
I could grow in my own garden. Instead I must use pharmaceuticals,
which I do with reluctance. But as long as we allow the drug industry
to determine our drug policies, as long as we become hysterical when
someone mentions marijuana, many people will be denied the beneficial
use of this plant and we will continue having prisons filled with
inmates serving long sentences for marijuana possession.

SUSAN ELIZABETH SIENS

Unity

crittery@midmaine.com