STATE SHOULD APPROVE MARIJUANA FOR THE AILING

The Connecticut General Assembly is considering legislation to permit
the medical use of marijuana by seriously ill patients whose
physicians have recommended it. This sensible, humane bill deserves
swift passage.

Scientifically speaking, the evidence is overwhelming that marijuana
can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms
caused by illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS or the
harsh drugs sometimes used to threat them. And it can do so with
remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the
drugs that physicians prescribe every day.

But right now, Connecticut law subjects seriously ill patients to the
threat of arrest and jail for simply trying to relieve some of their
misery. There is no good reason that sick people should face such treatment.

Still, opponents of the medical marijuana bill keep raising
objections, so let's look at their arguments one by one.

* "There is no evidence that marijuana is a medicine."

The truth: the medical literature on marijuana goes back 5,000 years.
In a 1999 study commissioned by the White House, the Institute of
Medicine reported, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety all
can be mitigated by marijuana." In its April 2003 issue the medical
journal The Lancet Neurology reported that marijuana relieves pain in
virtually every test scientists use to measure pain relief.

* "The medical community doesn't support this, just a bunch of drug
legalizers."

The truth: Numerous medical and public health organizations support
legal access to medical marijuana. National groups include the
American Academy of Family Physicians, American Public Health
Association and American Nurses Association. Regional organizations
include the New York State Association of County Health Officials, the
California Medical Association and the Rhode Island Medical Society. I
know of no medical group that believes that jailing sick and dying
people is good for them.

* "Marijuana is too dangerous to be medicine. It's bad for the
immune system, endangering AIDS and cancer patients."

The truth: Unlike many of the drugs we prescribe every day, marijuana
has never been proven to cause a fatal overdose. Research on AIDS
patients has debunked the claim of harm to the immune system. In a
study at San Francisco General Hospital, AIDS patients using medical
marijuana gained immune system cells and kept their virus under
control as well as patients receiving a placebo. They also gained more
weight.

* "There are other drugs that work as well as marijuana, including
Marinol, the pill containing THC (the main psychoactive chemical in
marijuana)."

The truth: These other drugs don't work for everyone. The Institute of
Medicine noted, "It is well recognized that Marinol's oral route of
administration hampers its effectiveness because of slow absorption
and patients' desire for more control over dosing." Inhalation gives a
more rapid response and better results. For some very sick people,
marijuana simply works better.

* "Smoke is not medicine. No real medicine is smoked."

The truth: Marijuana does not need to be smoked. Some patients prefer
to eat it, while those who need the fast action and dose control
provided by inhalation can avoid the hazards of smoke through simple
devices called vaporizers. For many who need only a small amount --
like cancer patients simply trying to get through a few months of
chemotherapy -- the risks of smoking are minor.

* "Medical marijuana laws send the wrong message to kids,
encouraging teen marijuana use."

The truth: That fear, raised when California passed the first
effective medical marijuana law in 1996, has not come true. According
to the official California Student Survey, teen marijuana use in
California rose steadily from 1990 to 1996, but began falling
immediately after that state's medical marijuana law was passed. Among
ninth-graders, marijuana use in the last six months fell by over 40
percent from 1995-96 to 2001-02 (the most recent figures.)

It is simply wrong for the sick and suffering to be casualties in the
war on drugs. Let's get rid of the myths and institute sound public
health policy. The General Assembly should pass the medical marijuana
bill immediately.

Dr. Joycelyn Elders served as U.S. surgeon general from 1993 to 1994
and is currently distinguished professor of public health at the
University of Arkansas School of Medicine in Little Rock. Readers may
write her in care of the Marijuana Policy Project, P.O. Box 77492,
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20013.