On Election Day last year, Michigan voters made their state the 13th to allow seriously ill patients to use medical cannabis upon the recommendation of a physician. Now, 71 million people -- about 24 percent of Americans -- live in one of the 13 states that allow the doctor-advised, medical use of cannabis.
Suffering patients in Illinois, however, still face arrest for relieving their symptoms with an effective treatment option.
Such a measure enjoys massive support in Illinois. A 2008 poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research shows Illinois residents favor allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use marijuana for medical purposes by a 68 percent to 27 percent margin.
There are already patients in Illinois using cannabis to treat a serious disease or debilitating condition, and they should not have to turn to the criminal market for relief. Most people do not want send a cancer patient to jail for using a treatment his or her doctor has recommended. A 1990 survey of cancer specialists that appeared in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that 54 percent of those surveyed favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana, and 44 percent had already suggested at least once that a patient use marijuana.
Illinois legislators have a responsibility to ensure seriously ill patients are exempt from state-level prosecution for using a medicine recommended by a physician. Cannabis can improve the quality of life for many patients, and it doesn't have the side effects of some addictive pharmaceutical drugs.
Opponents of medical cannabis often claim laws permitting its use are a step towards legalizing cannabis for everyone or it would send the wrong message to children. None of the states that have passed medical cannabis laws have legalized cannabis for recreational use, and reports on youth cannabis usage rates, where data is available, have shown a decline in teen use after the passage of those laws.
Illinois should not delay in protecting these patients -- for some it is truly a matter of life or death. Moreover, cannabis is a safe, natural medicine and doctors in Illinois should be able to recommend that patients use it if the situation dictates.
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Chicago Tribune
Author: Dan Linn, Illinois Cannabis Patients Association
Copyright: 2009 Chicago Tribune
Contact: Contact us -- chicagotribune.com
Website: Legalize cannabis for patient use -- chicagotribune.com
Suffering patients in Illinois, however, still face arrest for relieving their symptoms with an effective treatment option.
Such a measure enjoys massive support in Illinois. A 2008 poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research shows Illinois residents favor allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use marijuana for medical purposes by a 68 percent to 27 percent margin.
There are already patients in Illinois using cannabis to treat a serious disease or debilitating condition, and they should not have to turn to the criminal market for relief. Most people do not want send a cancer patient to jail for using a treatment his or her doctor has recommended. A 1990 survey of cancer specialists that appeared in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that 54 percent of those surveyed favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana, and 44 percent had already suggested at least once that a patient use marijuana.
Illinois legislators have a responsibility to ensure seriously ill patients are exempt from state-level prosecution for using a medicine recommended by a physician. Cannabis can improve the quality of life for many patients, and it doesn't have the side effects of some addictive pharmaceutical drugs.
Opponents of medical cannabis often claim laws permitting its use are a step towards legalizing cannabis for everyone or it would send the wrong message to children. None of the states that have passed medical cannabis laws have legalized cannabis for recreational use, and reports on youth cannabis usage rates, where data is available, have shown a decline in teen use after the passage of those laws.
Illinois should not delay in protecting these patients -- for some it is truly a matter of life or death. Moreover, cannabis is a safe, natural medicine and doctors in Illinois should be able to recommend that patients use it if the situation dictates.
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Chicago Tribune
Author: Dan Linn, Illinois Cannabis Patients Association
Copyright: 2009 Chicago Tribune
Contact: Contact us -- chicagotribune.com
Website: Legalize cannabis for patient use -- chicagotribune.com
