MEDICAL MARIJUANA: LET DOCTORS DECIDE

Regarding Florence Gilkeson's thoughtful Nov. 13 column, while there
have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors,
medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug.

If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing
chemotherapy and it helps him or her feel better, then it's working.
In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life issue best left to
patients and their doctors. Drug warriors waging war on non-corporate
drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health
intervention.

Their prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is
handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach
suggests that drug warriors should not be dictating health care
decisions. It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for
patients; sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek relief
from medical marijuana.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.