GOVERNMENT KNOWS POT HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT

Bob Newland's op-ed, "Depriving ill people marijuana is `evil'
(Thursday, Jan. 8) is outstanding. Kudos to The Weekly News for
publishing it.

Newland rightly points out that those who dismiss cannabis as medicine
are, uh, free to go outside and play while we adults discuss reality.
I would like to add a few points to Mr. Newland's article.

- - While it denies any medical use, the U.S. government happens to be
the only federally legal growers and distributors of medical cannabis
in the U.S.. That marijuana, grown in Mississippi, is distributed as
medicine to the few remaining patients in the Compassionate
Investigational New Drug program (CIND).

- - The U.S. government owns the patents to "Cannabinoids as
antioxidants and neuroprotectants," with U.S. patent 6630507.

- - The U.S. government has known since the early 1970s, after a study
conducted in Virginia under the auspices of the National Institutes of
Health, that cannabis has anti-cancer properties.

It is a sad truth that our government dictates policies based on lies.
We cannot afford to fund lies, nor can our nation afford to deny
citizens who wish to use a plant that is effective in treating
illnesses and painful conditions ranging from menstrual cramps to MS
and cancer.

Allan Erickson

Eugene, Ore.