STUDIES ABOUT MARIJUANA BACK UP HEALTH CLAIMS

I was aghast to read Terrence Farley's insulting letter denouncing and
belittling the legitimate efficacy of marijuana as medicine.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to stomach the misleading and
untruthful "statistics" that drug-enforcement officials irresponsibly spew
in order to protect their jobs, while at the same time, so many sick and
dying patients, who could immensely benefit from medicinal marijuana, are
wrongfully deprived of its use. Farley, if he even believes his own words,
needs an updated education in the science behind medicinal marijuana and a
lesson in human compassion.

I find it highly disconcerting that, in this difficult time of terrorism
and war, our tax dollars and law-enforcement resources are wasted by public
officials, such as Farley, in an attempt to vilify the use of medicinal
marijuana by sick and dying people.

It strikes me as odd that while morphine patch, Prozac, alcohol and tobacco
use is condoned by our society, Farley believes that suffering, terminally
ill people should be deprived of access to a medicine as helpful as marijuana.

In ostensible support of his illogical position, Farley has the audacity to
propose numerous statements, which he casually refers to as "true facts,"
which are either overwhelmingly misleading, profoundly erroneous or both.

Conveniently, not one of Farley's misleading statements is backed up by
citing a relevant study.

Perhaps this is because not one of his accusations is relevantly supported
by modern science.

Unfortunately, Farley has fallen prey to his own ignorance and, whether he
is aware of it or not, he has merely succeeded in perpetuating common
outdated myths and ridiculous overstatements about marijuana, to the great
chagrin and detriment of the majority who truly know better.

The truth is, marijuana is not evil, but an extremely safe and useful
medicine. In many cases, marijuana is the only medicine that can provide
relief to certain sick and dying patients.

Its safety and efficacy in the treatment of afflictions such as cancer,
AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis has been routinely documented and
bolstered by numerous studies. Research also suggests that marijuana may
protect against certain types of malignant tumors and has a neuroprotective
effect.

Farley is clearly unfamiliar with the magnitude of the results of these
recent studies and has attempted to skirt over and minimize their findings.

I suggest that anyone who wishes to know the truth fully review, among
others, the 2002 study by the Canadian Special Senate Committee on Illegal
Drugs, the 1999 and 1982 studies by the National Academy of Sciences,
Institute of Medicine and the 1998 study by the House of Lords Select
Committee on Science and Technology, all of which are government-sponsored
research that has come to the scientific conclusion that marijuana is an
important and useful medicine.

Take for instance, the Canadian Senate's Special Committee 2002 study,
whose authors concluded, "There are clear indications of the therapeutic
benefits of marijuana in the following conditions: analgesic for chronic
pain; antispasm for multiple sclerosis; anticonvulsive for epilepsy;
antiemetic for chemotherapy; and appetite stimulant for cachexia."

Additionally, marijuana is safe. Almost all drugs, including legal and
prescription drugs, pose a greater threat to individual health than
marijuana. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year
approximately 46,000 people die from alcohol-induced deaths -- not
including motor vehicle fatalities -- and more than 440,000 die from
tobacco smoking. Compare the above with marijuana, which is non-toxic,
cannot cause death by overdose and has not been attributed to any recorded
cases of fatalities. See the Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research
Centre 1994 study.

It should be abundantly clear that, after reviewing the science behind
medicinal marijuana, Farley's contentions stem from his own personal biases
and are not commensurate with reality.

In any case, regardless of Farley's ignorant and heartless position, the
majority of the modern world has come to realize that the recognition of
medicinal marijuana is an important advance in medicine.

Canada, the United Kingdom and Portugal recently have decriminalized
marijuana as a result of the above studies.

In the United States, so far, nine states have legalized medicinal
marijuana, and the number is constantly growing.

In our state, the New Jersey Nursing Association recently adopted a
resolution calling for the legalization of medicinal marijuana.

An October, 2002 CNN/Time magazine poll revealed that a full 80 percent of
Americans believe marijuana should be available to sick people who would
benefit from its use. It is obvious that Farley is completely out of touch
with the vast majority, which is quite egregious, given his position of
power and influence.

As a public official, Farley should focus his attention on violent
activities that actually harm society, and not on sick and dying patients
who are simply attempting to alleviate their profound suffering.

I would relish an opportunity to publicly debate this issue with Mr. Farley
and I urge anyone who wishes to learn more to contact me.

FREDERICK DIMARIA, JR. Chairman, National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Law New Jersey Chapter