cannabisnews.com: If Marijuana is Medicine, Treat It That Way
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If Marijuana is Medicine, Treat It That Way
Posted by CN Staff on April 07, 2011 at 12:39:36 PT
Editorial
Source: Lake Oswego Review
Oregon -- Oregonians have consistently signaled their acceptance of marijuana as a medicine that can alleviate the symptoms of everything from chemotherapy-induced nausea to severe back pain.And regardless of voter insistence on this point, the medical case study regarding marijuana and its effectiveness as a medicine to ease the symptoms of certain ailments is irrefutable. Who in their right mind, for instance, would deny a person suffering from cancer access to marijuana if it would ease that person’s suffering?
Yet, the methods by which Oregonians with physician-approved medical marijuana cards have historically been able to get their hands on medicinal marijuana are unreliable, unstable and of questionable legitimacy, and too often closely mimic marijuana culture associated with the illicit use of the plant as a recreational drug.Whether or not a dispensary system is the best system for the medicinal delivery of marijuana to appropriate patients is debatable. There are other models out there, especially in places such as Colorado or California.Unlike those programs, which are evolving into the standard for medicinal marijuana delivery, Oregon’s program is designed to stifle profit. If, in fact, we can concede that marijuana use as it applies to certain patients does qualify as medicine – and we know that many people do not accept that – than the notion such medicine must be manufactured and delivered without a profit motive does not make sense. If it did, then big pharmaceutical firms such as Bayer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Proctor and Gamble should reorganize as nonprofit agencies or face business sanctions.Which raises a legitimate question about state regulation of medicinal marijuana distribution. It seems to be a one-foot-in, one-foot-out approach. Ultimately, it acts as a disservice to those who truly need marijuana as a medicine.That must change.There are several reasons why the marijuana-as-medicine philosophy has only marginally caught on with middle America. First, anti-drug campaigns intended to demonize marijuana have been successful on some fronts, so the process of changing the impression of marijuana from that of a dangerous drug to a beneficial medicine is going to take some time.Secondly, and most importantly, the burgeoning industry of medicinal marijuana is being – or already has been – hijacked by those who obviously were deeply immersed in the culture of illicit marijuana use. Some of the state’s leading voices on medical marijuana dispensaries promote their services through websites and pamphlets that look like they were cooked up in a Portland drug paraphernalia shop.It’s a system that favors those who use dopey monikers such as “Stoney Girl” and “Portlandsterdam,” who attempt to develop quality standards for marijuana that likely make more sense to a college-age hippie than middle-aged cancer patient.What clientele, really, are they attempting to attract? Source: Lake Oswego Review, The (OR)Published: April 7, 2011Copyright: 2011 Pamplin Media GroupWebsite: http://www.lakeoswegoreview.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/zBfvHr5qContact: http://drugsense.org/url/oMAgDSrQCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #8 posted by dongenero on April 08, 2011 at 08:26:55 PT
Sam and Joe
I think Sam and Joe are on the same page, just touching at the opposing boundaries of the line that has to be walked regarding freedom, rights and capitalism.For a population to be free, individuals must be free to choose their activities so long as it does not hurt or damage anyone else, or infringe on others' rights or freedoms.Business and industry obviously must have regulations in place, otherwise unscrupulous individuals, without fail, will take advantage to the detriment of others. Sinclair is a great example. Industry prior to workers rights movements is another example. And a very painful recent example is the role that financial industry deregulation and laissez-faire oversight played in the collapse of the financial industry and global economy.Ayn Rand was a dreamer, but obviously naive to the hard-wired nature of mankind.
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Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on April 08, 2011 at 07:59:26 PT
govt. regs
I just said leave people alone unless it hurts someone else.I guess I assumed it was pretty clear that hurting workers in your factory or selling contaminated meat would be hurting someone else.But if you need see the entire world as a black & white and despise me for urging less meddling then go ahead
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Comment #6 posted by JoeCitizen on April 08, 2011 at 07:23:27 PT
 Sam Adams - The Jungle
Ever read The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair? It does not paint a pretty picture of the meat packing industry PRIOR TO REGULATION.Post regulation the meat packing industry became one of the better, cleaner run industries for decades. And then (as well depicted in Food, Inc.) all those regulations got undermined by big food corporations who didn't want to be bothered with all that "red tape" while developing their monstrous factory farms.Why do you think food would be safer without regulations? Historically, it wasn't. So what do you base your statement on, other than your philosophical dislike of government and regulations?
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Comment #5 posted by runruff on April 08, 2011 at 05:09:22 PT
It's not nice to fool mother nature!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/synthetic-designer-drugs-er-_n_846067.html
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Comment #4 posted by HempWorld on April 07, 2011 at 20:38:15 PT
That Marijuana is a class 1 controlled substance
is utterly absurd. Marijuana is, in fact, safer than water. The fact that this is still a controlled substance after 15 legal medicinal marijuana states, is outright criminal! And what just happened in Montana is not very democratic (overturning the will of the voters). Please re-classify marijuana Mr. President! Thank You!
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 07, 2011 at 19:55:49 PT
John Tyler
We have been watching The Kennedys on the Reelz Channel. Tonight was about what happened when the first black man was accepted into a college in Mississippi. Sometimes I think some people can't see a different way and fight it for all it's worth. As time goes by where there is a passionate issue change will come. Civil Rights was hard to come by. Solving the drug war is hard to come by too. http://www.reelzchannel.com/show/123/the-kennedys/
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Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on April 07, 2011 at 18:40:10 PT
Off topic a little.
I saw on the evening news that some of the border patrol agents have been taking bribes from Mexican smugglers to look the other way at border crossings. Not only that, smuggler sleeper agents have been infiltrating the Border Patrol employment itself and that local police in the counties and towns near the border have also been susceptible to bribes. The higher up in the organizations are shocked that the low paid, stressed out front line staffers could be bribed. It brings you right back to the politics of contraband and the lure of money for people desperate just to be able to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head.  Yes sir, the Drug War was lost years ago. It is too bad, way too bad, the politicians can’t understand that and deal with it in a rational way.
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on April 07, 2011 at 16:18:08 PT
managed society 
this is a great argument in favor of classic "laissez-faire" capitalism. Yes, capitalism.You see, humans will never agree on how a person should live, take medicine, etc. That is why the basic tenet of human society MUST be let people do whatever they want unless it hurts someone else. Every step that we take away from that basic policy leads to negative consequences. Every little regulation, rule, or bureaucrat staffer hired will lead to inferior products and services for the consumer.Witness the current situation, where meddling and hypocrisy driven by dominant government have forcefully replaced freedom and self-reliance as the core values of this society.You have people that are willing to basically tell sick people to go suffer pain because they personally can't stand seeing a plant named "Green Crack" or a store named "portlandsterdam". They want the sick to suffer not because they've been harmed, just because they've been offended.I can't think of any better argument for laissez-faire capitalism than medical MJ. The ONLY cannabis regulations should be don't use harmful pesticides or pollute the environment with the by-products of growing.
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