LEGALIZE CANNABIS FOR PATIENT USE

On Election Day last year, Michigan voters made their state the 13th
to allow seriously ill patients to use medical cannabis upon the
recommendation of a physician. Now, 71 million people -- about 24
percent of Americans -- live in one of the 13 states that allow the
doctor-advised, medical use of cannabis.

Suffering patients in Illinois, however, still face arrest for
relieving their symptoms with an effective treatment option.

Such a measure enjoys massive support in Illinois. A 2008 poll
conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research shows Illinois residents
favor allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use marijuana
for medical purposes by a 68 percent to 27 percent margin.

There are already patients in Illinois using cannabis to treat a
serious disease or debilitating condition, and they should not have to
turn to the criminal market for relief. Most people do not want send a
cancer patient to jail for using a treatment his or her doctor has
recommended. A 1990 survey of cancer specialists that appeared in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology found that 54 percent of those surveyed
favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana, and 44
percent had already suggested at least once that a patient use marijuana.

Illinois legislators have a responsibility to ensure seriously ill
patients are exempt from state-level prosecution for using a medicine
recommended by a physician. Cannabis can improve the quality of life
for many patients, and it doesn't have the side effects of some
addictive pharmaceutical drugs.

Opponents of medical cannabis often claim laws permitting its use are
a step towards legalizing cannabis for everyone or it would send the
wrong message to children. None of the states that have passed medical
cannabis laws have legalized cannabis for recreational use, and
reports on youth cannabis usage rates, where data is available, have
shown a decline in teen use after the passage of those laws.

Illinois should not delay in protecting these patients -- for some it
is truly a matter of life or death. Moreover, cannabis is a safe,
natural medicine and doctors in Illinois should be able to recommend
that patients use it if the situation dictates.

Dan Linn