MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGAL FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES

I noticed the most recent poll from the Hutchinson Leader that asked
people to give their opinions on the 21-year-old alcohol drinking age.
I wonder why we are debating about a substance that is already legal
when we need marijuana prohibition policy now before any more innocent
people are sent to jail or prison.

Medical marijuana is a popular issue. A nationwide poll showed 78
percent of Americans "support making marijuana legally available for
doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering," and state
medical marijuana initiatives have been repeatedly endorsed by voters.
Marijuana has never caused a single medically documented overdose
death -- unlike alcohol.

Many of the legal alternatives proposed by opponents of medical
marijuana are too expensive, too addictive, and have too many side
effects to be good medicine for all patients.

Many otherwise illegal substances, such as cocaine and morphine, can
legally be prescribed by doctors. The same should be true for marijuana.

Our state should abolish alcohol, or take a serious look at legalizing
marijuana. Ultimately, the decision of what medicine is best for an
illness should be left up to the patient and the doctor, not to the
government When they have their doctors' approval, patients should be
able to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest and imprisonment.
They should also be able to rely on a safe supply of marijuana,
without having to resort to the dangerous criminal market.

Andrew Hankins

Hutchinson