Medical Marijuana Cut Some Slack
With over 14 million people in the U.S. using pot at least monthly for recreational purposes, what's the problem with using it as a medicine? Oh yeah -- it's a federal crime. But it looks like the feds are going to cut it some slack - at least when the drug is used for medical reasons alone.
On a local level, 14 states have already legalized the medical use of marijuana, although the use and sale has still been subject to federal prosecution. President Obama has now implemented a policy that federal prosecutors stop targeting people who are using or selling medical marijuana, when it is done so within the boundaries of state laws.
Some people with cancer have founds that marijuana helps with symptoms of nausea (especially during chemotherapy) and loss of appetite. The medical establishment has recognized a possible benefit for a long time. In 1937, when marijuana was made illegal in the U.S., it was done so against the advice of the American Medical Association. In fact, marijuana was used for its medical properties in China as far back as 2737 BC.
Certainly the recreational use of marijuana is another discussion - one that I won't enter here, but it raises an unnerving thought. Recent celebrity deaths -- Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger -- remind us that legal medications designed for those with cancer and other chronic diseases, are often used recreationally or for minor conditions. Why should the reverse be forbidden? In fact, these unfortunate deaths are a reminder that marijuana might actually be safer than some of the other medicines we use to treat the symptoms of cancer.
There are pro's and con's to the use of medical marijuana, but the bottom line is that we need more information to make a fair judgment, and for now that's not happening. We learn about what works and what doesn't work in medicine through studying treatments in clinical trials. It is hard to study an illegal substance. Perhaps that will change with the new policy.
What do you think? Should the use of medical marijuana be legal on a federal level? Do you have a story to share? Join the conversation in the Lung Cancer Forum.
Photo: istockphoto.com
There are different types of lung cancer, depending on which cells are affected. The two main types are:
1. Small cell carcinom
Around 15 per cent of lung cancers are small cell carcinomas. This type of cancer spreads early and shows few early symptoms.
2. Non-small cell carcinoma
These cancers affect the cells that line the main bronchi.
Some lung tumors are metastatic from cancers elsewhere in the body. The lungs are a common site for metastasis. Since lung cancer tends to spread or metastasize very early in its course, it is a very life-threatening cancer and one of the most difficult cancers to treat. While lung cancer can spread to any organ in the body.
Get more info about cancer from this blog, Treatments For Cancer
I’m disgusted that my taxes are spent arresting marijuana users while violent criminals roam free, and I’m sick of the idea that the criminal drug cartels might try to get my kids involved in drugs just for the money.
Licensing, taxing, and regulating the distribution of marijuana is the surest way to put the criminal drug dealers out of business and protect our children from the money-hungry criminal element. It’s time to protect our children and take the marijuana business out of the hands of criminals. License, tax, and regulate the marijuana business.
And while we’re at it, let’s find a way to pull the revenue-hungry public policy in the right direction on personal cultivation (i.e., let’s get past the “you can’t tax it because people will just grow their own” argument). Let’s implement a personal cultivation permit. Limit the size of the growing area or the number of plants, and put a small user-fee on it to cover administrative costs, something like a fishing license. Maybe high enough that there will be a little something left over for education or fixing the roads.
One possibility:$100 per year for a permit to cultivate a dozen plants.
It’s a win-win.