PRESCRIPTION POT? ONLY FROM BAYER AND THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

The truth really is stranger than fiction. My best friend and co-author,
George McMahon, is one of only seven citizens who can legally smoke
marijuana in every state of the union. In fact, the U.S. government has
provided George with 300 prerolled marijuana cigarettes each month for 14
years, through a program called Investigational New Drug, administered by
the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Our government has grown and distributed medical marijuana since 1978. The
federal patients use marijuana to treat diverse symptoms of pain, spasms,
nausea and glaucoma-related ocular pressure.

Of course, officials won't yet admit their appointed "demon weed" is a
medicinal herb. They call the IND program a "research" project instead.
However, in 26 years of the program's existence, no government research has
been conducted regarding the recipients of the federal marijuana.

Perhaps certain officials don't want to empirically quantify what they
already suspect: Marijuana is good medicine, particularly when compared
with the often-toxic drugs promoted by pharmaceutical industry lobbyists
(well-known in political circles as deep-pocketed campaign contributors).

Had government officials performed the vital research, they would
understand why McMahon is alive today. Prior to his acceptance in the IND
program, George had been through 19 major surgeries, was declared
clinically dead several times, took 17 prescribed substances on a daily
basis and was confined to a wheelchair. For the past 14 years, George has
smoked 10 marijuana cigarettes each day. During this time, he has had no
surgeries or hospitalizations, he no longer takes any pharmaceuticals
(aside from the occasional aspirin or antibiotic), and he is fully ambulatory.

He is living proof that marijuana has medical value, yet, many federal
legislators refuse to admit it. They stubbornly persist in criminalizing
patients, spreading misinformation, defying the express will of the people
and denying the states their constitutional authority to resolve the issue
independently.

Despite our national hypocrisy regarding medical marijuana, the
international medical research on marijuana is astounding. In the United
Kingdom, Bayer Corp. is partnering with GW Pharmaceuticals to create
Sativex, a natural marijuana extract inhaler that works like a bronchial
inhaler, only sublingually.

Sativex relieves symptoms immediately (similar to smoking a marijuana
cigarette), without the negative ramifications of smoking. The medicine
requires no cleaning or rolling. Sativex is portable and can be used
discreetly, without a strong odor.

For many sick and dying patients in the United Kingdom, Sativex will be
ideal. The European free market is operating in accord with sensible public
policy in order to provide patients with quality medicine.

American patients, however, will be thrown in jail if they use Sativex.
Adding insult to injury, Bayer is a major financial contributor to
Partnership for a Drug Free America -- an organization that claims
marijuana has no medical value. It's enough to make a person sick,
especially if they are compassionate and reasonable.

The medical marijuana issue is not about recreation -- it's about patients
with painful, debilitating, and life-threatening symptoms.

The American public is certainly capable of making this common-sense
distinction between use and abuse. Perhaps that's why national polls
repeatedly demonstrate 75 percent to 80 percent approval for the
decriminalization of medical marijuana, in spite of the constant flow of
government-sponsored "reefer madness" rhetoric.

During my travels across the nation, I've spoken with several legislators
who claim they are hesitant to change the medical marijuana laws because
they don't want to "send the wrong message" to children. As a father who
delivered both his children with his own (trembling) hands, I can empathize
with this concern. I don't want my children misusing any substance, be it
alcohol, morphine, or marijuana. But if my children ever become sick, then
I want them to have access to any medicine, including marijuana-based
remedies, which will ease their symptoms and improve their quality of life.
And I hope they will never be marginalized, ostracized, or criminalized for
the treatment of their disease.

In a laudable but misguided attempt to administer equal justice under the
law, our legislators have taken a one-size-fits-all approach in response to
therapeutic marijuana. But doctors acknowledge that each person has unique
physiological, psychological, and environmental circumstances.

One man's poison is another man's salve. This applies to herbs, drugs and
delivery systems alike. Perhaps one day our national leaders will mature
enough to grasp this simple principle and implement meaningful reform.
Until that day, I'll keep my hopes high by repeating the words of Robert
Randall, the first recipient of federal marijuana: "History indicates the
most trivial of facts can implode the most powerful dogma."