MARIJUANA IS NOT MEDICINE

Regarding Dan Whisenhunt's op-ed piece, which is now posted on the NORML
Web site, Ed Rosenthal was not "duly appointed officer by the state of
California." He was appointed by the city of Oakland. Slogans on both sides
of the drug war are attempts to engage, not the full story. Marijuana
cannot be considered medicine. It has not met the standards for FDA
approval that protect patients.

Medicines are not approved by popular opinion through state initiatives.

The Institute of Medicine report did not recommend widespread immediate use
of marijuana, but supported continued research, which is ongoing.

"If there is any future for marijuana as a medicine, it lies in its
isolated components, the cannabinoids and their synthetic derivatives.
Isolated cannabinoids will provide more reliable effects than crude plant
mixtures," it says. "Therefore, the purpose of clinical trials of smoked
marijuana would not be to develop marijuana as a licensed drug, but rather
to serve as a first step toward the development of nonsmoked rapid-onset
cannabinoid delivery systems."

The recommendations go on to suggest very specific limitations on
short-term use, which are not required under California current practices.

Yes, children and neighborhoods have rights, too. Parents like myself are
not surrendering to the forces that hide behind patients to promote
incremental legalization.

Libba Jackson-D'Ambrosi

San Diego