MARIJUANA HAS BENEFITS

When Sen. [Jeff] Essmann discovered that there might be people holding
cannabis cards who did not have excruciating pain or a terminal
illness, he thought he had better take cannabis away from everyone,
possibly especially the sick people. They were saying that cannabis
helped them to tolerate various conditions that had not responded well
to prescription medications. Can't have sick people going around
advocating the use of a pain killer that does not cause strokes, heart
attacks, sudden, fatal internal bleeding, or an intense addiction.

U.S. Patent 6630507 is assigned to the United States of America, as
represented by the Department of Health and Human Services. The patent
claims that cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant
properties, making cannabis useful in the treatment of a wide variety
of oxidation associated diseases such as inflammatory and autoimmune
diseases.

Cannabinoids may function as neuroprotectants limiting neurological
damage following strokes and trauma, or in treatment of
neurodegenerative diseases. The patent was obtained Oct. 7, 2003.

It seems our government does believe that cannabis is medically
beneficial after all.

Arliss Pereau

Billings