DON'T BE FOOLED BY MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

Illinois is targeted to join 14 states that have legalized medical
marijuana with pending legislation under Senate Bill 1381.

The title, "Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act"
certainly sounds convincing. Marijuana supporters promote marijuana
use as medicine to help those persons sick and/or dying. The bill
allows a "patient" to grow their own cannabis plants and possess
enough marijuana to smoke 20-40 "joints" a day.

There is a misconception that a person must suffer from a severe or
terminal illness in order to qualify as a medical marijuana patient.

According to Calvina Fey, executive director of the Drug Free America
Foundation, a San Diego study of patients who were recommended medical
marijuana revealed only about 2 percent of those patients suffered
from AIDS, cancer or glaucoma. The remaining "patients" suffered from
a number of "debilitating" illnesses including headaches, neck pain,
back pain and menstrual cramps.

SB 1381 allows a patient to possess a 60-day supply of no more than
six plants and 2 ounces of dried plant. Six plants can produce 3 to 6
pounds of cannabis per crop. It's not too much of a stretch to say the
chance of surplus marijuana hitting the streets is pretty likely.

No one should be denied treatment for a terminal or debilitating
illness. But, be aware medical marijuana in an FDA approved pill form
called "Marinol" already exists. This legislation appears to be
nothing more than a ruse to legalize marijuana. Please don't be deceived.

Ben Halloran, Bloomington

The writer is commander, Task Force 6, a multijurisdictional
anti-narcotics unit.