MARIJUANA HAS PROVEN MEDICAL HISTORY

Lynn Erickson is horribly misinformed about medical
marijuana.

Erickson claims the medical marijuana debate is a ruse to end the
prohibition on marijuana. It is not. Marijuana has a 5,000-year
recorded history as an effective medicine. Research has shown that
marijuana can relieve such debilitating symptoms as nausea, appetite
loss, muscle spasms and certain types of pain.

This evidence has been acknowledged by the American College of
Physicians, American Nurses Association and many other health
organizations. Even the American Medical Association recently urged
the federal government to reconsider the classification that
currently bars medical use.

It is untrue that "the active ingredient in marijuana is already
available in pill form." The THC pill Marinol contains just one of
the roughly 80 active components in marijuana.

Research clearly has shown the other components play a vital role in
marijuana's therapeutic benefits. Numerous studies and patient
testimonies have shown the pill works too slowly and unevenly for
many patients.

Why should patients suffering from diseases like cancer and AIDS be
forced to risk arrest and jail to use the medicine that works best
for them?

- - Mike Meno, assistant director, communications, Marijuana Policy
Project, Washington, D.C.