stevesboo23
04-28-2005, 07:14 AM
Canada takes bold step on marijuana 04-24-2005
http://www.myplainview.com/n2w/parsed/stories/04242005RichardOrrcol.shtml
By RICHARD ORR
Herald Correspondent
In another stinging blow to the reprehensible prohibition of medical marijuana, the Canadian government has just authorized the use of cannabis for the treatment of pain and a number of debilitating conditions, including multiple sclerosis.
Last Tuesday, Canada approved the prescription sale of a natural marijuana compound produced by GW Pharmaceuticals of Britain called Sativex -- a whole-plant extract nicknamed “liquid marijuana.”
“It is nothing like Marinol, the synthetic THC sold in the U.S. and sometimes falsely touted as an adequate substitute for marijuana,” the national Marijuana Policy Project said in a recent press release. “In short, the Canadian government has just certified that virtually everything our own government has been telling us about marijuana is wrong.
“Sativex is to marijuana as a cup of coffee is to coffee beans. If Sativex is safe and effective (as evidenced by more than) 600 patient-years of research, marijuana is safe and effective. Now that we know beyond doubt that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine, how long will the government continue to arrest patients who use it?”
As a caveat, the MPP notes that the government´s mindless hostility toward a simple, effective treatment for a host of ailments may yet “take years,” and that Sativex won´t be a godsend for every patient because different strains of marijuana “work better for some conditions and less well for others.”
It will also cost a bundle, forcing patients to pay international drug cartels for something they can grow themselves for next to nothing in their own homes and backyards.
Still, Canada has taken a step in the right direction that will no doubt encourage others to rethink a mindset shaped by “Reefer Madness” -- the 1930s government-produced-and-directed movie that has the star jock taking one hit and running over an elderly pedestrian, with the girl-next-door cheerleader type getting pregnant and committing suicide. The “pusher man” was a shifty-eyed slug with slicked-back hair who goes insane from smoking pot.
Kids who see it today think it´s satire.
As ridiculous as the “Reefer” scenario is, it´s all our parents and grandparents knew about marijuana at the time. And it helped shape the country´s attitude toward a “drug” that doesn´t cause the death and serious health problems alcohol and tobacco inflict on mankind daily.
With a growing (no pun intended) number of people who have tried marijuana or who use it frequently, all the law generates are disrespect for authority (If they´re wrong about grass, what else are they wrong about?) and prisons jammed to the hilt with inmates who did nothing more than commit non-violent transactions among consenting adults. Nearly 50 percent of the drug arrests in this country are for marijuana alone.
Despite the government´s mailed fist, the groundswell favoring medical marijuana is growing by the day. Legislatures in Texas, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Alaska, Maine, Illinois, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Alabama, Connecticut, Ohio, Tennessee and a host of others are wrestling with the issue.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case last November that attempts to prohibit the government from imposing federal marijuana laws on states like California where it´s legal. A decision is expected shortly.
Meanwhile, notes the MPP, the U.S House will soon consider broadly-supported legislation that would “end the government's attacks on medical marijuana patients and give states full authority to enact and implement their own medical marijuana laws without federal interference.”
For its part, Texas -- which may have to launch another massive prison construction project when it can´t even come up with enough money to fund its schools -- is considering a bi-partisan bill that would afford marijuana defendants the right to use medical-need as a defense to prosecution.
It´s not likely to pass, but like Canada, it´s one more step toward the compassion and sanity that are sorely lacking in the marijuana laws of this country.
Stay tuned.
http://www.myplainview.com/n2w/parsed/stories/04242005RichardOrrcol.shtml
By RICHARD ORR
Herald Correspondent
In another stinging blow to the reprehensible prohibition of medical marijuana, the Canadian government has just authorized the use of cannabis for the treatment of pain and a number of debilitating conditions, including multiple sclerosis.
Last Tuesday, Canada approved the prescription sale of a natural marijuana compound produced by GW Pharmaceuticals of Britain called Sativex -- a whole-plant extract nicknamed “liquid marijuana.”
“It is nothing like Marinol, the synthetic THC sold in the U.S. and sometimes falsely touted as an adequate substitute for marijuana,” the national Marijuana Policy Project said in a recent press release. “In short, the Canadian government has just certified that virtually everything our own government has been telling us about marijuana is wrong.
“Sativex is to marijuana as a cup of coffee is to coffee beans. If Sativex is safe and effective (as evidenced by more than) 600 patient-years of research, marijuana is safe and effective. Now that we know beyond doubt that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine, how long will the government continue to arrest patients who use it?”
As a caveat, the MPP notes that the government´s mindless hostility toward a simple, effective treatment for a host of ailments may yet “take years,” and that Sativex won´t be a godsend for every patient because different strains of marijuana “work better for some conditions and less well for others.”
It will also cost a bundle, forcing patients to pay international drug cartels for something they can grow themselves for next to nothing in their own homes and backyards.
Still, Canada has taken a step in the right direction that will no doubt encourage others to rethink a mindset shaped by “Reefer Madness” -- the 1930s government-produced-and-directed movie that has the star jock taking one hit and running over an elderly pedestrian, with the girl-next-door cheerleader type getting pregnant and committing suicide. The “pusher man” was a shifty-eyed slug with slicked-back hair who goes insane from smoking pot.
Kids who see it today think it´s satire.
As ridiculous as the “Reefer” scenario is, it´s all our parents and grandparents knew about marijuana at the time. And it helped shape the country´s attitude toward a “drug” that doesn´t cause the death and serious health problems alcohol and tobacco inflict on mankind daily.
With a growing (no pun intended) number of people who have tried marijuana or who use it frequently, all the law generates are disrespect for authority (If they´re wrong about grass, what else are they wrong about?) and prisons jammed to the hilt with inmates who did nothing more than commit non-violent transactions among consenting adults. Nearly 50 percent of the drug arrests in this country are for marijuana alone.
Despite the government´s mailed fist, the groundswell favoring medical marijuana is growing by the day. Legislatures in Texas, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Alaska, Maine, Illinois, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Alabama, Connecticut, Ohio, Tennessee and a host of others are wrestling with the issue.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case last November that attempts to prohibit the government from imposing federal marijuana laws on states like California where it´s legal. A decision is expected shortly.
Meanwhile, notes the MPP, the U.S House will soon consider broadly-supported legislation that would “end the government's attacks on medical marijuana patients and give states full authority to enact and implement their own medical marijuana laws without federal interference.”
For its part, Texas -- which may have to launch another massive prison construction project when it can´t even come up with enough money to fund its schools -- is considering a bi-partisan bill that would afford marijuana defendants the right to use medical-need as a defense to prosecution.
It´s not likely to pass, but like Canada, it´s one more step toward the compassion and sanity that are sorely lacking in the marijuana laws of this country.
Stay tuned.