PROGRESS ON MARIJUANA

THE American Medical Association took a small but promising step toward
progress on the medical marijuana front last week. The influential doctors'
lobby approved a resolution that recommends allowing unfettered discussion
between doctors and patients about marijuana use for treatment of certain
diseases.

Free speech and full disclosure are critical to effective health care. In a
compassionate society, fear of criminal sanctions should not be allowed to
chill doctors' decisions to inform terminally ill and chronically ill
patients of the possible painrelieving benefits of smoked marijuana or
any other controversial treatments.

While the AMA declined to endorse legalization of medical marijuana and
made no recommendation on whether doctors should actually be allowed to
advise their patients to use marijuana, an increasing number of medical
professionals are raising their voices in favor of compassionate use. The
editorial board of the respected New England Journal of Medicine, for
example, took a stand in favor of narrowly prescribed use of medical pot.

Meanwhile, reports of marijuana therapy's promising powers keep getting
stronger. A recent review panel of the National Institutes of Health found
evidence that smoked marijuana has been effective in relieving nausea
caused by cancer chemotherapy and may improve the appetite of AIDS patients
who develop wasting, a severe weightloss condition. There's also evidence
that marijuana is useful in treating some forms of epilepsy and spasticity
caused by multiple sclerosis.

The state Legislature will have a chance in the upcoming session to do more
than guarantee doctors' and patients' rights to talk about these healing
benefits. They should pass a narrowly drawn bill to legalize medical pot
and end needless suffering.

Copyright © 1997 The Seattle Times Company

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