MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE GOES LOCAL: COMPASSIONATE OR TOO RISKY?

BLOOMINGTON -- Legalizing marijuana use for chronic pain relief would be a
compassionate move and its time has come, supporters said. But opponents
argue that allowing marijuana -- even for medical reasons would open the
door to all sorts of abuse.

Thirteen states allow marijuana use for medical reasons. Illinois
legislators are considering a bill that has more support this year than
when it was defeated in the Illinois Senate in 2007.

Senate Bill 1381 says when a person is diagnosed with a debilitating
medical condition, the patient -- with his or her physician's permission --
would be allowed to have up to seven marijuana plants and two ounces of
cannabis for medical reasons.

Advocates -- such as the Marijuana Policy Project, a nationwide group argue
that marijuana may provide pain relief from cancer, HIV/AIDS and other
diseases because it reduces inflammation and relaxes people, and may help
control spasticity associated with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis
and Parkinson's disease, and agitation associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Marijuana also may reduce nausea from chemotherapy because the primary
active ingredient in marijuana has a calming effect on the stomach, and may
discourage loss of appetite in HIV/AIDS and cancer patients because
marijuana encourages people to eat, supporters said.

Opening Pandora's Box?

Detractors argue that the risks of legalizing marijuana use outweigh the
benefits.

Are we going to open a Pandora's box?" asked state Rep. Dan Brady,
R-Bloomington.

Brady opposes the legislation because -- though well-intentioned -- the law
would be difficult to enforce. If marijuana became legal for medical
reasons but remained illegal for non-medical reasons, how would police
enforce the law?

People would abuse it," Brady contended. "Some people would get the drug
legally and use it for illegal means or would take it from someone using it
for medical reasons."

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, also opposes the bill, saying
"Illinois is not equipped to monitor medical marijuana."

Dr. Ramsin Benyamin, medical director of Millennium Pain Center in
Bloomington, treats chronic pain patients for whom conservative treatments
have not worked. Most of his patients have chronic back pain. Some of his
patients are on opioid medicines delivered by pill, patch or pumps
implanted into a patient's body. For most patients, those medicines provide
some relief, Benyamin said.

As far as the benefit (of medical marijuana), there is no good scientific
evidence to prove a major advantage of marijuana over currently prescribed
and legally used pain medicines," Benyamin said.

Any benefit would be outweighed by the risk of the marijuana being abused,
he said. In addition, many patients would smoke the marijuana after the
medical community has been successful in getting people to quit smoking
cigarettes.

My opinion is the risk outweighs the possible benefit," Benyamin said.

Dr. Robert Sawicki, medical director of OSF Home Care Services, said 95
percent of symptoms for patients seeking pain relief are managed with
available therapies, such as medicines, implantable pumps and surgeries.

In the studies I have read, the evidence in favor of medical marijuana is
not very compelling," Sawicki said. "If it would be no better or worse than
what is already out there, why bring it to market?"

But Gregg Brown, a Bloomington environmental activist who favors
legalization of medical marijuana, pointed to an Illinois Nurses
Association position paper that says cannabis has been used throughout the
world for medicinal purposes for centuries and may be used safely under
doctor supervision. The paper further argues that marijuana use does not
lead to morphine, cocaine or heroin addiction and that there is a growing
body of scientific evidence supporting cannabis use.

Seth Satorius, an Illinois State University student and secretary of the
ISU chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, said the U.S.
government has not allowed clinical trials of marijuana and that's why
there isn't more scientific evidence. But small scale research indicates
relief of symptoms from AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Legalizing marijuana for medical reasons won't encourage people to smoke
cigarettes, Brown said. Medical marijuana also may be breathed using a
vaporizer or baked into cookies or brownies and eaten, he said.

As for the risk-of-abuse argument, advocates said that exists with any
medicine.

With states that have approved it (medical marijuana), the social order is
not falling apart," Satorius said.

A survey by the Marijuana Policy Project showed 68 percent of Illinoisans
support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use medical
marijuana if their doctors recommend it.

The public is right on this," Brown said.