Cozmo
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Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is catching some flak for his response to a question about medical marijuana. The incident puts the issue in the national spotlight, which of course was the questioner's intent.
In Dover, N.H., Romney took the stage before a banner proclaiming, "Ask Mitt anything." (Note to Romney campaign staff: Think about rewording that.)
A young muscular dystrophy victim in a wheelchair, Clayton Holton, said "I have the support of five of my doctors saying I am living proof that medical marijuana works. I am completely against legalizing it for everyone but there are medical purposes for it."
Romney suggested synthetic marijuana, but Holton said, "I have tried it and it makes me throw up." Then he asked Romney: "Will you arrest me and my doctors if I get medical marijuana?"
"I'm not in favor of medical marijuana being legal," Romney replied, and moved on to another questioner. Some think he was rude, but a candidate need not have infinite patience with a media ambush.
This isn't the first time Holton has baited a presidential candidate, according to news reports. He asked Fred Thompson the same question. But we have to give the kid credit for raising the issue.
Marijuana has been used as medicine for millennia, but has, of course, been illegal in the United States for decades. In recent years, some doctors and patients have studied it in treating a wide variety of diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy. It is perhaps best known as a way to reduce pain and nausea in cancer or AIDS patients.
A dozen states have authorized the use of marijuana for some patients, but the federal government continues to prosecute users.
As with any issue surrounding drugs, claims and counterclaims abound.
Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders has written, "The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. ... Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day."
Former Sen. Bill Frist, also a doctor, has countered that the research on the issue is not conclusive: "I believe that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other medical symptoms."
Marijuana, the government asserts, has a range of harmful effects. But advocates counter that physicians regularly prescribe far more powerful narcotics.
Even some opponents of medical marijuana concede it's unlikely that a bedridden cancer patient, treated with marijuana, will burgle houses or rob liquor stores to feed his habit.
Like Romney and Frist, the anti-legalization forces point to an alternative -- synthetic marijuana, taken as pills. They say that smoked marijuana contains 400 substances, many toxic, some hard to measure. The synthetic is easier to prescribe and monitor. Drug advocates say smoking allows patients to control their dosages better than they could by swallowing a pill.
But some cancer patients have trouble even swallowing. Some patients prefer the herb, and it reportedly is cheaper. We suppose that depends on who you know.
Reports say scientists are studying better ways of delivering both herbal and synthetic marijuana. Doing so could help resolve problems with both methods.
Another issue runs deeper. Advocates accuse Uncle Sam of fanatically following outworn dogma, ignoring the needs of the sick. The government fires back that the medical marijuana movement is a stalking horse for legalizing the drug in all circumstances.
That seems a stretch. We don't see the legalization of morphine in all circumstances just because it's prescribed in hospitals. Marijuana, a more benign substance, could be regulated in the same way. Modern medicine is keeping more people alive, but that may lead society to a new obligation to help reduce suffering. Doctors prescribe opiates; why not a lesser drug?
Would legalizing marijuana for medical use -- by prescription only -- lower barriers that now inhibit recreational use? Probably not. While prescription drug fraud is a problem, you'd have to be a remarkable actor indeed to feign the specific illnesses for which marijuana treatment would be appropriate.
We urge whoever does win the White House to push for more research into the uses or abuses of medical marijuana. It could become an accepted remedy for the seriously ill, but only if the question marks are removed.
Should the U.S. legalize medical marijuana? Send your comments to: dhpolls@heraldextra.com or call 344-2942.
Please leave your name, hometown and phone number with your comments. E-mail comments should not exceed 100 words; voicemail comments should be no longer than 30 seconds. Anonymous and unverifiable responses will not be published.
The Daily Herald will publish comments on Oct. 21.
News Moderator: CoZmO - 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Daily Herald (Provo, UT)
Contact: Daily Herald - Contact
Copyright: 2007 The Daily Herald
Website: Daily Herald - HERALD POLL: Marijuana by prescription?
In Dover, N.H., Romney took the stage before a banner proclaiming, "Ask Mitt anything." (Note to Romney campaign staff: Think about rewording that.)
A young muscular dystrophy victim in a wheelchair, Clayton Holton, said "I have the support of five of my doctors saying I am living proof that medical marijuana works. I am completely against legalizing it for everyone but there are medical purposes for it."
Romney suggested synthetic marijuana, but Holton said, "I have tried it and it makes me throw up." Then he asked Romney: "Will you arrest me and my doctors if I get medical marijuana?"
"I'm not in favor of medical marijuana being legal," Romney replied, and moved on to another questioner. Some think he was rude, but a candidate need not have infinite patience with a media ambush.
This isn't the first time Holton has baited a presidential candidate, according to news reports. He asked Fred Thompson the same question. But we have to give the kid credit for raising the issue.
Marijuana has been used as medicine for millennia, but has, of course, been illegal in the United States for decades. In recent years, some doctors and patients have studied it in treating a wide variety of diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy. It is perhaps best known as a way to reduce pain and nausea in cancer or AIDS patients.
A dozen states have authorized the use of marijuana for some patients, but the federal government continues to prosecute users.
As with any issue surrounding drugs, claims and counterclaims abound.
Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders has written, "The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. ... Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day."
Former Sen. Bill Frist, also a doctor, has countered that the research on the issue is not conclusive: "I believe that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other medical symptoms."
Marijuana, the government asserts, has a range of harmful effects. But advocates counter that physicians regularly prescribe far more powerful narcotics.
Even some opponents of medical marijuana concede it's unlikely that a bedridden cancer patient, treated with marijuana, will burgle houses or rob liquor stores to feed his habit.
Like Romney and Frist, the anti-legalization forces point to an alternative -- synthetic marijuana, taken as pills. They say that smoked marijuana contains 400 substances, many toxic, some hard to measure. The synthetic is easier to prescribe and monitor. Drug advocates say smoking allows patients to control their dosages better than they could by swallowing a pill.
But some cancer patients have trouble even swallowing. Some patients prefer the herb, and it reportedly is cheaper. We suppose that depends on who you know.
Reports say scientists are studying better ways of delivering both herbal and synthetic marijuana. Doing so could help resolve problems with both methods.
Another issue runs deeper. Advocates accuse Uncle Sam of fanatically following outworn dogma, ignoring the needs of the sick. The government fires back that the medical marijuana movement is a stalking horse for legalizing the drug in all circumstances.
That seems a stretch. We don't see the legalization of morphine in all circumstances just because it's prescribed in hospitals. Marijuana, a more benign substance, could be regulated in the same way. Modern medicine is keeping more people alive, but that may lead society to a new obligation to help reduce suffering. Doctors prescribe opiates; why not a lesser drug?
Would legalizing marijuana for medical use -- by prescription only -- lower barriers that now inhibit recreational use? Probably not. While prescription drug fraud is a problem, you'd have to be a remarkable actor indeed to feign the specific illnesses for which marijuana treatment would be appropriate.
We urge whoever does win the White House to push for more research into the uses or abuses of medical marijuana. It could become an accepted remedy for the seriously ill, but only if the question marks are removed.
Should the U.S. legalize medical marijuana? Send your comments to: dhpolls@heraldextra.com or call 344-2942.
Please leave your name, hometown and phone number with your comments. E-mail comments should not exceed 100 words; voicemail comments should be no longer than 30 seconds. Anonymous and unverifiable responses will not be published.
The Daily Herald will publish comments on Oct. 21.
News Moderator: CoZmO - 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Daily Herald (Provo, UT)
Contact: Daily Herald - Contact
Copyright: 2007 The Daily Herald
Website: Daily Herald - HERALD POLL: Marijuana by prescription?
