MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS ABOUT COMPASSION

To the Editor:

Bravo for the courage of both Joe Gamble, who took the risk to put a
human face on the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and to the
Post Standard for the lead story and long article on his plight May 18.

For Joe Gamble, the use of the herbal cannabinoid marijuana has
benefits that far outweigh its costs. Unfortunately, it is
prohibited and makes a criminal of a man with a life of outstanding
service. Some criminal.

The soft underbelly of our harsh and pernicious "war on drugs," which
is actually a war on people like Joe Gamble, is the lack of
compassion for human suffering. In medicine, we have only two
ethical canons, to relieve suffering and preserve patient autonomy.
Our prohibition of marijuana violates both.

In addition to being an effective herbal therapy for multiple
sclerosis, acute glaucoma, neurodegenerative diseases, AIDS, the
effects of chemotherapies and other symptoms/syndromes, use of
marijuana can relieve both acute pain and the memories of chronic suffering.

One of the oldest chemical information systems in our bodies is the
endocannabinoid system, which helps us "forget" severe suffering. We
can "remember" our worst pain but cannot experience it in the present
moment. If we did, we'd be unable to function. This is the same
system that marijuana activates.

People with less than optimal internal endocannabinoid systems may
have illnesses with no legal, effective medical treatments. When they
use marijuana, our society's response is to arrest them and throw them in jail.

On Sept. 6, 1988, DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young ruled
that "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest
therapeutically active substances known to man."

End of story. Legalize medical marijuana now. It's time.

Gene Tinelli

Addiction psychiatrist

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Syracuse