Pubdate: Mon, 19 Dec 2011
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2011 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://www.boston.com/globe/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n701/a04.html
Author: Robert Sharpe

PAIN RELIEF FOR SICK IS A CASE OF QUALITY OF LIFE, NOT CRIME

RE "THE government's marijuana problem: Federal bureaucracy makes it 
hard for states to administer a proven pain-relief medicine" by 
Juliette Kayyem (Op-ed, Dec. 12): While there have been studies 
showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana 
is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to 
a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, and it helps the patient 
feel better, then it's working.

In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life decision that is 
best left to patients and their doctors.

Drug warriors waging battle on non-corporate drugs contend that 
organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. Their 
prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, 
jail cells, and criminal records.

This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors should not be 
dictating health care decisions.

It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for their 
patients; sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek 
relief from marijuana.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington, Va.
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