Pubdate: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 Source: New Haven Register (CT) Copyright: 2014 Don Benjamin Contact: http://www.nhregister.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/292 Author: Don Benjamin Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n188/a09.html PATIENTS IN PAIN SHOULD HAVE RIGHT TO USE MARIJUANA Reading Cindy O'Neill's letter I have to assume that she or no one close to her has ever experienced terrible pain from cancer or another illness. I watched my wife suffer the pain of dying from cancer for three years. Yes, they gave her strong pain pills - oxycodone, oxycontin, morphine. The prescriptions read take one every 12 hours, take one every four hours, take one or two every four hours as needed for pain. Your comment that only people who are addicts would go for it, not "normal" people, is pretty naive. Given enough pain even normal people will try anything. My wife would have tried it and I am sure the thousands of other normal people suffering terrible pain will try it. It might be a better bet than all the pain killers she was given. We talked about it, but where were we going to get it? Yes, it will be abused (illegal sales) just like all the other pain killers are, but does that mean we should take all of them off the market also. I do feel I can tell you that the average nonaddict person who has terrible pain from cancer or another illness might very well try medical marijuana along with or instead of strong addictive pain pills. If it helps them to feel better then they should have that right. - - Don Benjamin Orange - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D