CANNABIS PROVIDES RELIEF FOR PAIN SUFFERERS

Cannabis has documented medical value proved by dozens of
studies.

Pain is the primary reason people seek medical treatment and patients
seeking pain relief are the largest group of cannabis patients. Many
chronic pain patients have been prescribed strong opioids such as
oxycontin, morphine or hydrocodone. However, with the use of cannabis,
most patients significantly decrease or eliminate their use of these
opioids.

As director of Patients Without Time in Paia, I have seen this
firsthand.

Most of those who oppose medical cannabis receive grants from either
the federal government or from the pharmaceutical industry, which
hopes that preventing access to medical cannabis will protect its own
products.

Who funded this closed-door Medical Marijuana Summit (The Maui News,
March 18)? The point of this meeting was to maintain funding from
anti-drug programs, reject the proved medical value of cannabis and
ignore the protections promised by Hawaii law. By keeping cannabis
illegal, police departments enjoy continued opportunities to tap the
public till.

While logic and compassion should be reason enough to correct these
inhumane practices, there is no doubt that medical cannabis could be a
multibillion-dollar crop for Hawaii's farmers. Hawaii would be able to
collect enough sales, excise, payroll and other taxes to finance a
working public education system. Given enough foresight and planning,
Hawaii could provide the entire country with the best in medical
cannabis products and research.

Take the time to check out HB2847, a good start for our medical
cannabis program in Hawaii.

Brian Murphy

Paia