MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Thank you for publishing columnist Steve Chapman's "From Obama, sanity
on marijuana" (Commentary, Oct. 22).

What most people do not know is that cannabis has been shown to reduce
the risk for certain cancers and shrink tumors, and evidence from
numerous studies has shown that cannabis and its chemical compounds,
cannabinoids, induce cell apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

Furthermore cannabis is frequently used in states that permit its
medical use to treat the side effects of chemotherapy, and more and
more research is revealing the anti-cancer properties of cannabis.

Illinois lawmakers need to pass Senate Bill 1381 and protect patients
in Illinois who use cannabis with their doctor's recommendation.

The formal guidelines issued by the Department of Justice should be
seen as a sign for states to pass medical cannabis programs as they
see fit.

Senate Bill 1381, if passed, would be the most tightly controlled and
regulated medical cannabis program in America.

It allows for three mature plants and two ounces of usable cannabis,
plus it carries increased penalties for those who break the law under
the guise of the medical program.

Politicians need to do what is right and pass this legislation because
cancer patients in Illinois should not be criminals for using a
doctor-recommended medicine.

\Dan Linn, director, Illinois Cannabis Patients Association, Chicago