MEDICAL MARIJUANA TRULY BENEFICIAL

In April, the Michael Phillips Compassionate care act passed both the
House Judiciary and Rules committees before Alabama's archaic
Legislature's session ended. The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care
Act would legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes in Alabama.

It is past time for Alabama to adopt medical marijuana legislation
because the simple fact is that marijuana is not the evil substance
that the United States government has portrayed it to be. Instead,
marijuana is highly useful as a legitimate medication, and allows many
to obtain relief that they are unable to meet by chemical
medications.

Not to mention that some people have medical conditions that prevent
them from taking some traditional medications. This is especially true
of narcotic painkillers; people who are suffering from conditions such
as liver disease are very limited to what they can take to treat other
ailments.

The truth about some chemical medications is surprising. For instance,
according to National Public Radio, acetaminophen -- the chemical in
Tylenol and a variety of other medications -- is responsible for 458
deaths each year. The number of deaths from marijuana each year is
zero.

Marijuana is an herbal remedy. It does not produce the same levels of
chemical dependency, and there are no chemical medications that treat
as many different ailments as marijuana.

According to numerous new studies, marijuana has benefits in treating
stress, chronic pain, the effects of cancer, the effects of HIV/AIDS,
Parkinson's disease and many other ailments. So as Alabamians, it is
time for us to decide if we want to continue to believe 87 years of
lies pushed on us by the prohibitionists, or to allow doctors to
recommend marijuana to treat the ailments of their patients.

Ronald Crumpton

Pelham