Cannabis News Marijuana Policy Project
  Medical Marijuana Helps Seriously Ill
Posted by CN Staff on March 24, 2004 at 07:23:56 PT
By John H. Wilson 
Source: Times Union  

medical I am an enrolled, card-carrying, President Bush- and war-in-Iraq-supporting conservative. You might expect me -- a lawyer, former prosecutor and law chairman of the Bronx County chapter of the state Conservative Party -- to oppose legislation allowing the medicinal use of marijuana.

You would be wrong. Many conservatives like me strongly support the medicinal use of marijuana, mostly because we have seen firsthand how medical marijuana can help desperately ill people.

My brother-in-law, John Holmberg, was a decent, hardworking man who was making plans for his future. He was working for the Postal Service by day and studying to become an engineer at night when his dreams and his life were cut short at the age of 40, in March 2002, after a two-year struggle with pancreatic cancer.

Like many who undergo chemotherapy, John endured terrible nausea, pain, loss of appetite and weight loss. He was suffering, both from his illness and from the treatments his doctors prescribed. Marijuana helped to ease that suffering. It relieved his pain and nausea, giving him back his appetite and stopping his weight loss.

Medical marijuana gave John more than two years of life, and it made that time less painful. It worked when legal prescription medications did not.

Yet, the laws of New York treat patients like my brother-in-law as criminals.

John H. Wilson is a Bronx attorney.

Snipped:

Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/wilson.htm

Source: Times Union (Albany, NY)
Author: John H. Wilson
Published: Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Copyright: 2004 Capital Newspapers
Contact: tuletters@timesunion.com
Website: http://www.timesunion.com/

Related Articles & Web Site:

Medical Marijuana Information Links
http://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htm

Medical Marijuana Bill Gains Kirwan's Support
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18399.shtml

Medical Marijuana Measure Advances
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18398.shtml

Pols Stoke Debate on Medical Pot Use
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18390.shtml


Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help

 
Comment #5 posted by VitaminT on March 25, 2004 at 12:25:44 PT
I checked it out
Maybe DamnPatheticFanatic.org would be more appropriate.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #4 posted by FoM on March 25, 2004 at 11:31:14 PT
Check Out DamMadd.org
Anti-Drug Group Launches Campaign Against Medical Marijuana

March 25, 2004

(Tioga Center) -- An anti-drug group has launched a campaign against medical marijuana legislation in New York state. Steven Steiner -- founder of Dads and Mad Moms Against Drug Dealers -- rejects claims that pot can be used for medicinal purposes. Steiner is calling on families across the state to write letters to lawmakers urging them not to support the legislation. Steiner says he wants to send a message to Albany that medical marijuana is not welcome in New York state. The upstate resident describes legislation as quote-"medical excuse marijuana bills" in an effort to legitimize pot smoking. He says his group -- better known as "DAM-MADD" -- has set up a link on its Web site to enable New Yorkers to easily write letters to lawmakers about the issue.

On the Net: http://www.dammad.org

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press

http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=1738089

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on March 24, 2004 at 10:13:04 PT
Bush is cruising for a bruising
I wonder how he'll vote when it comes time to choose?

The Barretts trial will be on trial Aug. 31, right in time for the election.

That might help him make his choice.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on March 24, 2004 at 08:02:47 PT
Embarrassing
It must feel strange to openly support a man who wanted to take your sick, slowly-dying sister's husband and throw him in jail with no medicine until he dies.

Maybe he should just call the police now & have them come search the house & cuff his sister for good measure. Maybe it will set his conscience at ease. He can vote for Bush with confidence this fall.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on March 24, 2004 at 08:00:30 PT
the absurdness of it all
An efficacious substance that has no side effects other than laughter is illegal.

Chemotherapy is 'treatment', whereas herbal medication is Verboten.

I once saw the contents of the inventory from an old drugstore that had been purchased by an antique dealer.

There was an old bottle of opium, one of bella donna (the leaves were burned to treat asthma sufferers) and hundreds of other bottlles of drugs that the pharmacy stocked. There were a lot of drugs hauled away from that old drugstore.

The point is: People have ailments and illnesses that need treatment. If the drugstore doesn't have what they need to find relief, then it will be sought elsewhere. Sometimes, cannabis can be that relief.

Might as well legalize and benefit from what it can do. What they hey?

I laugh to keep from crying.



[ Post Comment ]


  Post Comment
Name:        Password:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comment:   [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]

Link URL:
Link Title:


Return to Main Menu


So everyone may enjoy this service and to keep it running, here are some guidelines: NO spamming, NO commercial advertising, NO flamming, NO illegal activity, and NO sexually explicit materials. Lastly, we reserve the right to remove any message for any reason!

This web page and related elements are for informative purposes only and thus the use of any of this information is at your risk! We do not own nor are responsible for visitor comments. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, news clippings on this site are made available without profit for research and educational purposes. Any trademarks, trade names, service marks, or service names used on this site are the property of their respective owners. Page updated on March 24, 2004 at 07:23:56