WHO'S BEING HELPED?

In a strange effort to protect the American public, the federal government
has taken a hard stand against using marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Proponents of the use of medical marijuana tell us that pot is effective in
alleviating the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and the nausea associated
with radiation treatment and AIDS. It does not have to be ingested by
smoking, they say, but can be used as a vapor, a tea or in food.

"Unhealthy, addictive" screams those federal watchdogs who would try to save
us from ourselves. But then, so is morphine and Valium and doctors can
legally prescribe those chemicals as needed.

Is the motivation to protect American consumers or is it to allow
pharmaceutical companies sufficient time to develop a synthetic version of
cannabis in pill form?