One Way Or Another

"HIGH" LEVEL OF TOLERANCE IS NEEDED

Terminally ill patients shouldn't be denied pain relief.

People with terminal and debilitating diseases face more than just
the pain from their conditions. The push for a ban on medicinal
marijuana, coupled with the negative connotations associated with its
use, cause ill people in many states to suffer unnecessary hardships.

Imagine a hard working, responsible adult living with a painful
disease like cancer or multiple sclerosis being told by the
government that access to the medicine that helps them cope with
their ailment is being denied.

It doesn't seem like the American way.

Nevertheless, it's the reality being pushed forward by the Drug
Enforcement Administration, the California Narcotics Officers'
Association and others who refuse to acknowledge the benefits of
medicinal marijuana.

The opposition cites the risks of addiction and expresses concern
about side effects like impaired motor coordination and
concentration. Many legal prescription drugs are far more addictive
and have lethal side effects but remain available. Is it right to
refuse a patient a valid medicine just because it might lead to
addiction? I guess we're going to have to outlaw big money prescription drugs.

Shouldn't alcohol, caffeine and nicotine also be banned under those
criteria? They're all known to be addictive. Someone warn Starbucks
about the wrath of the DEA.

This is not about advocating that teens be allowed to smoke after
school. It is about people who are suffering considerable pain from a
terminal illness and wanting relief, some with little time to live

The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health
Association and other medical organizations support marijuana use
under the supervision of a qualified physician.

Talk show host Montel Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis and is
an advocate of medicinal marijuana use. Williams said he has used
prescription drugs such as Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin, yet has
only found relief through marijuana.

"[It] works for some of us who have neurological pain," he said in an
interview with Deborah Norville. "Doctors in several states have
prescribed it for me."

Williams is able to remain productive, yet could face jail time.

California is one of 11 states that have passed laws permitting
marijuana use by patients with a doctor's approval, but a recent
United States Supreme Court ruling states that doctors can be blocked
from prescribing it and that federal anti-drug laws supercede state
laws on the subject, leaving doctors open to prosecution.

The ruling was supported by the DEA, which has been staging raids
since 2001 and arresting patients with conditions ranging from
chronic back pain to brain cancer.

That's right, critically ill patients are being arrested.

It's time for us to stop these injustices and find some sympathy.

Thousands of ill Americans deserve that right.