[Nachum]

George has been beating this drum since I have listened to his show. I he is completely wrong on the medical use of marijuana. I spoke with a cancer sufferer today who said that marijuana was the only thing that was effective to stop her nausea. She added that she had tried the legal drugs currently available and said they just did not work. She also stated that in her cancer support group that the other sufferers echoed her statements.

[RWR8189]

This was a horrible decision.

While I may not support such a law in my state, this had nothing to do with inter-state commerce and was completely outside the realm of control for the federal government.

[thoughtomator]

Discussing whether it is good or bad is completely irrelevant to the fact that the federal government has no Constitutional authority to regulate it!

[hurly]

so now anecdotes trump data!

[My2Cents]

With regard to medical marijuana use, I see no problem, provided its use is by perscription and monitored by a physician. (Sheesh, we make certain narcotics available by perscription for treatment purposes..why not marijuana?)

But in terms of making pot legal?....With the well-documented obesity problem in this nation, do we really want a large swath of the population wandering around with the munchies all the time?

[MHGinTN]

I don't get it ... Oxycontin is a prescription drug yet cannabis is too dangerous to make it a controlled substance also? When you consider how cannabis was first outlawed (the chemical industry wanted to limit competition for their new artificial fibers), it is weird to now see the subpreme court canceling states' rights to regulate!

[escapefromboston]

I would be for the legalization of marijuana if the pro-side didn't always go on and on about "medical marijuana". Thats not why they want to legalize it! They want to legalize it so they can smoke it, they don't care about sick people. Now if they came out and said "legalize pot so kids can get high and not get arrested" , I might think about supporting.
I just hate phonies.

oh and I hate hippies also, but mostly I hate phonies

[Mylo]

Marinol, synthetically derived THC, is an approved medicine for nausea because it has been shown to be effective. The only problem is that it is in a pill. One cancer sufferer said that putting an anti-nausia drug in the form of a pill is like giving an anti-dihareaha drug in a suppository!

The article mentions pain; but ignores nausea. Most actual medicinal users need if for nausea, not pain. Beating up a straw man argument doesn't prove anything except the writers unwillingness to be intellectually honest.

[cyborg]

Better to give expensive meds than smoke a cheap joint I think/sarcasm intented 100%

[KarlInOhio]

Dr. Jones offered an open letter to parents. Following are the main points discussed in his letter:

Marijuana is not a benign drug. Use of this drug impairs learning and judgment and may lead to the development of mental health problems

etc. etc.

Just about the same arguments can be made for alcohol.

As for the medical marijuana debate, every rational person can see the difference between street use of opiates and use under doctor's supervision, whether it is codeine, morphine or the many synthetics. One of my old coworkers had nasal surgery and was given cocaine as one of the drugs before/during surgery. What is it about the "demon weed" which incites so much fear and hatred that it might have a medical use?

[econ_grad]

Just because you legalize marijuana, it doesn't mean that everyone will do it. Have stiff penalties for people getting into car accidents while under the influence but do not punish others who use it recreationally.

[Old Lady]

God bless the person you spoke to who has cancer.

My husband has cancer. A new drug called Zofran (which is very expensive) controls nausea very well. Other new drugs are out there.

Turn pot over to the drug companies, and if it is useful then reguilate it like any other medicine. And lower the prices -- that's another crime.

[FormerLib]

While I certainly support giving patients whatever is necessary to make them as comfortable as possible, I believe the recent decision was correct.

State laws cannot trump Federal law in these cases.

We need to fix the law at the Federal level and we need to do it legislatively, not using the Judiciary like the leftists do.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I agree with the author. 10 years after this study was done, another UC Berkeley health official wrote about the effects of marijuana he had observed in his students and they confirm this report. I have noticed the same thing over the years with pot users.

One of the most disturbing effects is the inability to judge themselves. Invariably they think they are smarter and sharper than everyone around them, when it is fairly obvious to the "cleans" that they are prone to mistakes, terrible moods, etc. Use of this drug sems to obliviate honest judgement and turn on a switch of denial. Perhaps that is why they like it so much.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

I didn't see that he addressed the nausea issue. Even at that, the other risks are real and should matter. Plus, you can't make a conclusion based on how these people feel about it. The drug alters their state of mind, and it may be that that they like, rather than real relief from nausea.

[markman46]

George has been beating a lot of drums for 50yrs. as for this, a friend has MS and get his stash from the FEDS no less once a month to help relieve the spams he gets, it works for him.

[Betaille]

Drugs R Bad... mmmkayy???

[TXBubba]

I have no problem with marijuana being prescribed as a drug for cancer etc. There are many drugs that cause horrible things to happen to people when not used in a regulated way. That's why you can only get them with a prescription. I don't get why marijuana can't be treated the same way. Perhaps someone can explain this to me.

[LowOiL]

experiment on twenty young men who were experienced marijuana smokers. Before and after they smoked reefers, electric impulses of different strengths were applied to their fingers and pain thresholds recorded. It was a method that earlier had verified the pain-killing effects of morphine, aspirin and codeine. MARIJUANA NOT ONLY FAILED TO LESSEN PAIN, IT ACTUALLY INCREASED IT! That finding casts doubt on the usefulness of marijuana as an analgesic.

Just another tid-bit you don't find quoted on many LP Freepers "me" pages...

[G32]

George is a smart man.

[freepatriot32]

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