STATE GROUP BACKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Thank you for publishing Victoria F. Grizzoffi's column on a sane
approach to medical cannabis. What most people do not know is that
cannabis has been shown to reduce the risk for certain cancers and
shrink tumors, and evidence from numerous studies has shown that
cannabis and its chemical compounds, cannabinoids, induce cell
apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

A study done by the Medical College of Virginia in 1974 found that
THC, a cannabinoid, "slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers
and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their
lives by as much as 36 percent." Furthermore, cannabis is frequently
used in states that permit its medical use to treat the side effects
of chemotherapy.

Illinois lawmakers need to pass Senate Bill 1381 and protect patients
in Illinois who use cannabis with their doctor's recommendation.
Senate Bill 1381 if passed would be one of the most tightly controlled
and regulated medical cannabis programs in America. It allows for
three mature plants and two ounces of usable cannabis plus it carries
increased penalties for those who break the law under the guise of the
medical program.

Politicians need to do what is right and pass this legislation because
patients in Illinois should not be criminals for using a doctor
recommended medicine.

Cannabis was one of the most widely prescribed medicines for a number
of ailments before it was outlawed in 1937. Outlawing a plant is
asinine and now we have a system where truly sick and ailing people
are considered criminals for using it, even if their doctor recommends
it. How does that make sense?

Dan Linn

Executive Director

Illinois NORML