PASSING POT LAW WON'T REALLY HELP

If medical marijuana becomes legal, it will be a disappointment to
many. The proposed law would not require any doctor to prescribe
medical marijuana, just as New York doesn't require education in pain
care or enforce the prohibition against cruel and degrading treatment.

So as state Sen. Kemp Hannon has indicated, it is likely marijuana
would be used for conditions for which it has no or little benefit and
not be used for conditions where it is of benefit.

The law would leave too much to the discretion of physicians, given
that New York is rated among the six worst states in the nation for
pain management by the Pain and Policy Studies Group. Unlike 26 other
states, New York has no state pain management initiative and it has
never done a statewide study of pain, though many other states have.

It is naive to believe that legalization of medical marijuana will do
much in New York to help people with cancer, arthritis and other illnesses.

David Becker

Bronx