MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOULD BE ALLOWED

After examining information from both sides of the debate, it's clear that
marijuana is a useful medication that can aid suffering people and the
time has come for the state of Wisconsin to allow marijuana to be
prescribed as medicine.

On Tuesday the Wisconsin State Legislature's combined health committee was
holding a hearing to listen to advocates seeking to have medical marijuana
legalized in this state.

The "Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act Hearings" included many stories
from people who suffer from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and other physical
ailments that are improved or eased by the use of cannabis.

Medical marijuana is not about people "getting high" or anything that goes
along with stereotypical recreational drug use. Marijuana, if abused, is a
harmful drug. Granted, it's less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, but it's
a drug none-the-less and under existing laws its possession, manufacture
and distribution should be investigated and prosecuted. Law enforcement
officers making marijuana arrests are doing their job.

However, after examining all of the arguments against medical marijuana,
they don't nearly equal the positives that come with cannabis when used as
medicine. It allows cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to eat. It
also returns the appetite to patients suffering from full-blown AIDS.
Furthermore, it eases the pain and pressure on the eyes of patients
suffering from glaucoma. There are many other documented legitimate
medical uses for cannabis. A well-regulated medical marijuana distribution
program in Wisconsin is a necessity.

Advocating for medical marijuana isn't without its pitfalls. How do you
tell kids that smoking pot is bad when you advocate for medical marijuana?
Well, that's an issue that deals with perception. Nobody would say that
morphine is good for a healthy human being. However, it is appropriate to
prescribe morphine for someone with an acute, painful injury or someone
suffering the late stages of a terminal illness. Marijuana's healing
abilities shouldn't be dismissed due to perception.

While some people will say that synthetic or other pharmaceutical
alternatives to cannabis are equally as effective, the truth is that
overwhelming patient anecdotes show they are not. The bottom line is that
people who are suffering from physical afflictions that can be eased by
the use of cannabis should not have to do anything illegal to ease their
pain.

A claim in the legislature, Tuesday, that the fight for medical marijuana
was a ploy to legalize the drug, was reactionary. This argument is about
helping people who are ill - nothing more.

The state of Wisconsin should join the 13 other states in the nation that
have allowed for the use of medical marijuana. There is no substitute for
this medicine. The excuses for continuing to keep its medicinal use
illegal are not compelling.