Comment: Legalize Medical Use of Marijuana (8/12)

By HARRY ROSENFELD
c.1997 Albany Times Union

ALBANY, N.Y. A man I know turned to smoking marijuana to overcome
his total aversion to food as a result of chemotherapy treatments.

Three or four puffs of marijuana restored his appetite enough so that
he could eat. Without it, he certainly would have become dangerously
debilitated, his fight against the cancer in his body would have been
undermined, and he might have starved to death.

That's a compelling argument for legalizing marijuana for medicinal
use. But the authorities, from President Clinton down to local
sheriffs, disagree. Having failed utterly to control the widespread
recreational use of marijuana, which is illegal, the forces of law and
order have marshaled their majestic powers to keep the medically needy
from taking a few helpful puffs.

The basic rationale for opposing medical legalization is twofold.
First, people pressing for it have an ulterior motive: It is for them
the opening to the legalization of the drug for everyone. Second,
other medications are available to treat the specific sorts of
suffering that marijuana eases.