cannabisnews.com: Why Won't Government Let Us Use Marijuana 





Why Won't Government Let Us Use Marijuana 
Posted by FoM on December 07, 2000 at 13:44:39 PT
By Dr. Lester Grinspoon
Source: Boston Globe 
High-ranking government officials in the United States have referred to the concept of medical marijuana as a hoax, a subterfuge by which proponents of a more liberal policy toward this drug will succeed in undoing the long-standing, harsh prohibition.Ignorant of the role cannabis played in Western medicine from mid-19th into the early 20th century, they and their many supporters view the notion that cannabis has medicinal properties as a new intrusion into allopathic medicine. 
The parochialism of this view is highlighted by ethnohistorical studies which document not only how ancient is the use of this substance as a medicine but, as well, the multiplicity of cultures that have used it in so many different ways for the treatment of a large variety of human ailments and discomforts.Its use as a medicine is so widespread and reports of its toxicity so rare, the contemporary judgment of Western medicine seems deviant. One might ask why the government of the United States, the leading oppositional force, clings so tenaciously to this insular and harmful policy?The answer, of course, is the fear that as people gain more experience with cannabis as a medicine they will discover that its toxicity has been greatly exaggerated, its usefulness undervalued, and that it can be used for purposes the government disapproves of. Having made these discoveries, they will be less supportive of the prohibition and its enormous costs, among which is the annual arrest of 700,000 people in the United States alone.With the publication of its report in March 1999, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences grudgingly acknowledged that cannabis has some medical utility but averred that because smoking it was too dangerous to their health, patients would have to await the development of pharmaceutical products that would eliminate this hazard.While the report greatly exaggerates the danger of smoking cannabis, it fails to provide a discussion of vaporization, a technique that allows patients who wish to avoid the smoke to inhale the cannabinoids largely free of particulate matter.Another reason the authorities would have patients wait for the "pharmaceuticalization" of marijuana is to allow for the development of cannabinoid analogs that will be free of any psychoactive effects.This goal is based on the assumption that the psychoactive effects are both unhealthy and bad for the patient in the vague way in which the "high" is thought by the prohibitionists to be deleterious.It is an assumption that is not supported by the mountain of anecdotal evidence that supports marijuana's usefulness as a medicine. While there are some patients who do not like the psychoactive effects, they are relatively rare; the vast majority, patients suffering from serious illnesses, finds that smoking cannabis not only relieves a particular symptom, but also makes them "feel better."Helping patients, particularly those with chronic diseases, feel better is an important goal of the humane practice of medicine. And there is a growing understanding in medicine that patients who feel better do better.The resistance of government authorities to allowing the availability of cannabis as a medicine is generally supported by the Western medical establishment. This has not always been so. Physicians in the United States were enthusiastic about the medicinal uses of cannabis from the middle of the 19th century until the passage of the first of the Draconian legislation aimed at marijuana in 1937 (the Marijuana Tax Act).Under pressure from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the predecessor organization to the present Drug Enforcement Administration, the Journal of the American Medical Association published in 1945 a vehemently antimarijuana editorial, which signaled a sea change in the attitude of doctors toward this drug. They became both victims and agents of the marijuana disinformation campaign launched by Harry Anslinger, the first chief of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.Many physicians still suffer from both this legacy and fear of the DEA, so much so that they are afraid to prescribe Marinol (a legally available synthetic THC, both more expensive and less effective than marijuana).Today, the medical establishment takes the position that there is no scientific evidence demonstrating that cannabis has medical usefulness. This stance is based on the fact that there is a paucity of double-blind controlled studies of the clinical usefulness of marijuana.This scarcity is likely to persist for some time. The costs of such studies are generally underwritten by pharmaceutical firms that stand to gain much if they can demonstrate a therapeutic usefulness in, and win Food and Drug Administration approval of, a drug whose patent they hold. Because this naturally occurring herb can not be patented, these firms will not invest the more than $200 million needed to do the studies required for official approval of a pharmaceutical. Consequently, the medical utility of marijuana will continue to rest on anecdotal evidence.It would not be the first medicine to be admitted to the pharmacopoeia on the strength of anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal evidence commands much less attention then it once did, yet it is the source of much of our knowledge of synthetic medicines as well as plant derivatives. Controlled experiments were not needed to recognize the therapeutic potential of chloral hydrate, barbiturates, aspirin, curare, insulin, or penicillin.It is unlikely that marijuana will ever be developed as an officially recognized medicine via the FDA approval process, which is ultimately a risk/benefit analysis. Thousands of years of widespread use have demonstrated its medical value; the extensive multi-million dollar government-supported effort (through the National Institute of Drug Abuse) of the last three decades to establish a sufficient level of toxicity to support prohibition has instead provided a record of safety that is more compelling than that of most approved medicines.The modern FDA protocol is not necessary to establish a risk-benefit estimate for a drug with such a history. To impose this protocol on cannabis would be like making the same demand of aspirin, which was accepted as a medicine more than 60 years before the advent of the double-blind controlled study.Many years of experience have shown us that aspirin has many uses and limited toxicity, yet today it could not be marshalled through the FDA approval process. The patent has long since expired, and with it the incentive to underwrite the enormous cost of this modern seal of approval.Cannabis too is unpatentable, so the only source of funding for a "start-from-scratch" approval would be the government. Other reasons for doubting that marijuana would ever be officially approved are today's antismoking climate and, most important, the widespread use of cannabis for purposes disapproved of by the US government. As a result, we are going to have two distribution systems for medical cannabis.One will be the conventional model of pharmacy-filled prescriptions for FDA-approved medicines derived from cannabis as isolated or synthetic cannabinoids and cannabinoid analogs. The other will have more in common with some of the means of distribution and use of alternative and herbal medicines. The only difference, an enormous one, will be the continued illegality of whole smoked or ingested cannabis.In any case, increasing medical use by either distribution pathway will inevitably make growing numbers of people familiar with cannabis and its derivatives.As they learn that its harmfulness has been greatly exaggerated and its usefulness underestimated, the pressure will increase for drastic change in the way we as a society deal with this drug.Note: Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School, is the author of "Marihuana Reconsidered" and "Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine."Complete Title: Why Won't Government Let Us Use Marijuana As Medicine?Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Dr. Lester GrinspoonPublished: December 7, 2000Copyright: 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.Address: P.O. Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107-2378Contact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Feedback: http://extranet.globe.com/LettersEditor/default.aspRelated Articles & Web Site:Marijuana The Forbidden Medicinehttp://www.rxmarihuana.com/ Is Marijuana Really Medicine? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7705.shtml No, Medical Marijuana Is a Hoax http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7357.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by VitaminT on August 24, 2002 at 12:51:51 PT
are we to conclude then . . .
that the government is justified in imprisoning pot smokers? If it doesn't work for you then you shouldn't use it. Live and let live. 
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Comment #9 posted by Sharon on August 24, 2002 at 12:42:52 PT:
Pot INTENSIFIES Your "Norm". Not good for MS
I have MS. I have pain, tension, tremors, slurred speech on bad days,and some mild depression due to the other symptoms. I have used marijuanna only a couple of times. Why only a couple? Because in INTENSIFIES everything. Yes, it increases the pain, tension, and severly exaggerates the tremors. My problem with slurred speach becomes absolutely uncontrollable. And I only use one hit.I think pot just accentuates your "norm". My hubby loves it. He always feels great, and it makes him feel even better.I always feel bad, and pot makes me feel SO MUCH WORSE.I also think your studies may not be accurate, for the simple reason that someone who DOESN'T like the effects of it is VERY UNLIKELY to ADMIT it ... because they WANT you to continue providing it to them, for they certainly KNOW someone they could give it to who WOULD like it. When something is hard to come by, it is rarely denied...even if they don't want it for themselves.
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Comment #8 posted by paulyjazz on July 25, 2001 at 01:00:12 PT:
Marijuanna
some of these people are stupid. Canabis has no physical addiction unlike heroin, coke, cigarrites. I have been smokeing Marijuanna for about 7 years. Durring my 5th or 6th year I quite somkeing completely for months. I never went through any withdraw simtoms. I have also been smokeing tobacco for about 5 years and I cann't quite and I want to. I really had no reason to quite smokeing weed but I just did because it wasn't around and I had no intintions in haveing to find any. Now I am surrounded by a bunch of people who do not even smoke tobacco and the addiction still grabs me by the balls and will not let go. You want to talk about addictions you shouldn't be wasteing your time in here you need to start focuseing on other drugs people. Yes Marijuanna is a drug and yes I believe it is a gateway drug which leeds to other drugs for the fact it is illegal and it gives you a buzz so to speak, but the buzz isn't that strong so why not try something just as illegal and a lot stronger you should be all right; right?? So if all you can do is say that it is addictive and harmfull when you don't know for your self I don't want to hear your stupid theorys and lab test bullshit about how bad it is for you and start realizeing what it can be used for. Even alcohol was illegal at one time and that is even worse for you than weed for god sakes. Open your eyes and go to your history books and find out why weed was first band from the U.S. and you will learn at one point in time in the early 20th c that weed was at one time legal but was band because the white people (me) and the gov. at that time thought that it made blacks hostile. This is taken from a 22 M. 
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Comment #7 posted by Mr Weed 1 on December 11, 2000 at 16:57:40 PT
marihuana reconsidered
I agree with virtually everything said by Lester Grinspoon and what he has written on this subject, I use medicinal marihuana for bi-polar illness as well as a supplement to help me eat as due to all the meds I am taking I am physically wasting away with asthma [since birth] as well as emphesema from long time cigarette smoking. It's like this can't a human being die with a little compassion or will it always be red tape to stumble on over and over again? The gov't arguements are weak at best and ours is very very strong, you can no longer legislate what one finds medicinally helpfull freely given by our creator to help us, only the devil would wan't cannabis to remain illegal, but that's our gov't for you satan himself !!!Sincerely,Mr Weed 1
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 08, 2000 at 17:54:35 PT
Related News Brief
Cannabis Spray Eases Pain for MS PatientsSource: Electronic TelegraphAuthor: David SapstedIssue 2024 Saturday 9 December 2000© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2000Web Site: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/  Research into the medicinal benefits of marijuana is showing that three-quarters of a trial group of multiple sclerosis sufferers report significant benefits.Interim findings from an experiment at an East Anglian hospital are regarded as an important step towards the legalisation of cannabis for medical use. In Government-backed tests at the James Paget Hospital, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, patients report remarkable benefits after using a cannabis spray.Though the trials are small in scale, 10 of the 13 guinea pigs, multiple sclerosis sufferers or people experiencing severe pain after surgery, have reported finding relief. Benefits include relief from pain, enabling sufferers to sleep better and allowing a return to more active lives.Dr Willy Notcutt, leading the trial, said: "The results so far are very acceptable." Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, has stated the Government's willingness to legalise the medical use of cannabis if trials show it can be of "a clear benefit".
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Comment #5 posted by freedom fighter on December 08, 2000 at 16:13:03 PT
Dear Candy
Smoked cannabis with thousand of people, never saw someone keel over and die from it. Noone had to see a doctor. It is only time I would use word "NEVER". I smoked cannabis for 27 years. Do you think it is time to stop a war that kills people?May Peace be with you\/War is DeathPeace is Love
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Comment #4 posted by defenderoffreeworld on December 08, 2000 at 08:53:29 PT:
you people don't know???
i believe that the government does not allow us to enjoy the beautiful herb for recreational or medicinal purposes simply due to the fact that it is wrong, and only bad people do drugs, and drugs will harm the children and the society. i mean, for crying out loud, do you see what's going on in holland? society is falling apart over there. do we really want this to happen in the greatest nation of all, the cradle of democracy, the land of the free????? marijuana is highly addictive, as much as heroin and cocaine, and withdrawal symptoms are heavy (were you not informed on the results of the monkey experiments). we have to protect the children and the interests of this great nation. i'm surprised you bad people don't realize this! 
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Comment #3 posted by Smokeless in Seattle on December 08, 2000 at 04:11:30 PT
Dr. Grinspoon, I love you LOL
Where would the movement be without this guy? A white, male, anglo on the medical faculty at Harvard - wow :) - if he's not credible to the pro WOD esatblishment, who is? I must tell you that if I can ever meet this guy, I will.To Candy: The Alaskan initiative fell flat on its face, 65-35. The reason was that the wording of the ballot question involved raleasing everyone in jail on MJ convictions. If they would've stopped after the first few sentences, it would have passed. Letting people out of jail is a scary thing to most of the populace, so it scared them into voting 'no'.Next time around, I hope they rewrite it and get it right :)SiS
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Comment #2 posted by dddd on December 07, 2000 at 22:12:16 PT
why?
Dear Candy Why wont the government let us use marijuana?......This is the question that more and more people are finally asking. Not one person has ever died from using marijuana.Many people have died,or had their lives destroyed because of the absurd prohibition of marijuana. If you look at the reasons the government gives for the laws against marijuana,they are full of lies,exagerations,and misrepresentations. I dont know how to explain why.It's somewhat complicated.
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Comment #1 posted by Wanda Rinehart. on December 07, 2000 at 21:30:45 PT:
Why won't government let us use Marijuanna? 
Dear sirs I have been looking everywhere and I can't find out what happened in Alaska with the election on the MJ issues on the ballot.  I have looked and looked and I can't find one single case of Marijuanna overdose. Is there any such proof?  please let me know what happened in British Columbia in their election on Marijuanna.  Sincerely Candy.
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