cannabisnews.com: Marijuana: The Miracle Drug Marijuana: The Miracle Drug Posted by CN Staff on February 15, 2009 at 13:34:52 PT By Kathy Rippentrop Source: Star-Tribune Minnesota -- For the past several years, Minnesota lawmakers -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- have worked hard to pass sensible, compassionate legislation to protect seriously ill patients from arrest for using medical marijuana when their doctors recommend it.It's encouraging that they've come so close in the past, but for many Minnesotans, time is running out. I know. It's already too late for Jane Schmidt -- my mom -- whom I lost last year after a four-year battle with cancer. She fought bravely, even when the only drug that relieved her pain and allowed her to function -- medical marijuana -- also made her a criminal.When Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer in November 2003, doctors gave her about a year to live. She went through many surgeries and many hospitals. An extremely virulent, painful staph infection made recovering from each surgery much more complicated.Mom tolerated the first full series of chemotherapy quite well. However, the pills she was prescribed for the vomiting cost $100 each, were only about 75 percent effective, took 30 minutes to start working and were not covered by insurance. Plus, they did nothing at all for her dwindling appetite.Another surgery and a second series of chemo took its toll. Mom had completely lost her appetite and was withering away to nothing. She suffered serious stomach sickness. She was losing her spirit.That's when a friend of my dad's suggested medical marijuana.We do not take drug use lightly in my family. My dad is a recovering alcoholic and drug user who has stayed clean for 30 years. He was highly reluctant to bring an illegal substance into the house. But Mom was suffering, and we were desperate for anything that might work.The very first time she tried it was a miracle. The violent sickness was gone. An hour later, Mom was able to have a good meal. The stomach problems from the chemo were gone.Medical marijuana helped her regain a quality of life that allowed her to continue to fight. Unless you're dying yourself or you're very close to somebody who is, it's extremely hard to imagine how depressing and demoralizing a debilitating illness can be.Mom survived -- and thrived -- for four and a half more years. She would never have made it through the second year without medical marijuana. With it, she was able to keep fighting and was even able to travel overseas. In the 12 months before she died, she visited Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Mexico, Cuba and Greece. These were all lifelong dreams that she was able to fulfill only because of medical marijuana.Our legislators have debated this issue earnestly and seriously for more than two years. We know by now that 13 states already have laws that protect people like my mom who rely on medical marijuana for survival. We know that mountains of scientific evidence prove medical marijuana is safe and effective for many patients. We know from the experience of other states that laws protecting these patients have no effect on the prevalence of illicit marijuana or the rates of youth marijuana use.This needs to be the year our elected leaders step up for these patients and pass a medical marijuana law in Minnesota.Kathy Rippentrop lives in Lakeview, Minn.Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Author: Kathy RippentropPublished: February 15, 2009Copyright: 2009 Star Tribune Contact: opinion startribune.com Website: http://www.startribune.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/FezIJUt9CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 16, 2009 at 16:05:12 PT Related Article From Minnesota Local Grandmother Says Medical Marijuana Prolonged Daughter's Life February 16, 2009URL: http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/local_grandmother_says_medical_marijuana_prolonged_daughters_life-102 [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 15, 2009 at 20:38:36 PT Way to go Minnesota! Good to see an article like this in a big newspaper over there.I've said it before and I'll say it again. The dominoes are falling..... [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 15, 2009 at 17:27:42 PT Greenfox I hope that those type of ads won't be around much longer. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by greenfox on February 15, 2009 at 17:11:09 PT: Saw an "above the infuence ad" Saw an "above the influence ad" and it disgusted me!!!I actually went to their contact page and sent the following (not that it will ever be read, or if it is, that it would EVER be taken seriously or make ANY kind of real difference, but ANYWAY, this is what I wrote):"I think your ads are shameless. The govn't reports have already shown that cannabis (NOT "marijuana") as you slang talk it, HAS medicinal value. You are funded by "BIG PHARM" and they push THEIR drugs on children, (i.e. "Adderall aka AMPHETAMINE for 'add', Oxycontin aka HEROIN for "pain",) all of which can be solved by the administration of cannabis. The body has MANY cannabis receptors in the brain, and as DEA Judge FRANCIS YOUNG said, (and I quote,) "Marijuana, therapeutically, is one of the safest substances known to man"). It's sad that the "Partnership" is still running these NONSENSE ads which, if ANYTHING, push our YOUTH into doing drugs at a young age. The only thing CERTAIN about the "Gateway" theory is that when cannabis isn't regulated (as it is, MEDICALLY, in 13+ states, nearly a quarter of the the USA,) it brings the DEALERS into the lives of people that would otherwise just smoke cannabis. There are even Dutch and British studies being performed as we speak to the ilk of cannabis curing, or at least STOPPING, certain types of cancer. YOU ARE LOSING THIS "War on drugs" and it's sad to see all the political funding going into these types of ads when these political monies could be better spent on education and REAL information; not propaganda. And you probably think I'm some sort of "pot-head" - funny thing is, I haven't "toked" in almost half a decade. I still find this ad campaign DESPICABLE. I've said my peace. Not that anyone reading this will care. Take it easy."-gftake care-D/aka/Greenfox Propaganda site - above the influence [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 15, 2009 at 17:09:44 PT Off Topic: Farm Aid on DirecTV Channel 101 We stumbled onto the concert and I thought others might want to check it out.***Farm Aid Presents The Pretenders & Friends airing on DIRECTV in February We are very happy that DIRECTV is running the first of four one-hour specials of the 2008 concert. You can watch them all on the 101 network if you're a DIRECTV subscriber. It was a magical show, and we are happy that performances can be enjoyed again and again! We'll let you know when to expect the next three specials! http://farmaid.blogspot.com/2009/02/farm-aid-presents-pretenders-friends.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment