DOC'S, PATIENT'S CALL

Editor: Regarding your Dec. 10 editorial, "House stirs medical pot":
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 noncorporate 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 their
patients; sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek relief
from medical marijuana.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.