[Farm A.C.]

October 29, 2008

Medical marijuana would be unhealthy and troublesome

BY JANET OLSZEWSKI

On Nov. 4, Michigan residents will decide whether or not to join 12 other states in legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Proposal 1's intent is to benefit people suffering from debilitating illnesses. If passed, it would allow registered patients with a chronic medical condition such as cancer, glaucoma or Hepatitis C to use marijuana.

The Michigan Department of Community Health would be required to establish an identification card system for patients who meet the criteria to use marijuana and individuals who meet the criteria to grow marijuana.

Make no mistake, chronic pain is debilitating, and we as a health care community must do our best using the many tools available to help patients relieve pain. Nevertheless, legalizing the smoking of marijuana for this purpose is not the right answer.

Consider the facts. The smoked form of marijuana is not considered modern medicine. In 2006, the FDA issued an advisory stating that no sound scientific studies have supported medical use of smoked marijuana for treatment in the United States

Major public health organizations do not support smoking marijuana as medicine. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society all oppose the smoked form of marijuana as medicine.

Just as cigarette smoke can produce serious illnesses such as lung cancer, marijuana smoke is detrimental to a person's health. It alters the functioning of the central nervous system, the brain and the brain stem. It also changes how a person thinks and feels.

It is true that THC, the primary cannabinoid in marijuana plants, has demonstrated medical value. It is currently available in the prescription drug, Marinol. Recent studies also have demonstrated that inhaling of the THC using a vaporizer or inhaler can achieve the same or higher THC levels as smoked marijuana.

Like all prescription medication, the federal government regulates Marinol and any new medicines that are developed. Federal regulation assures a level of quality and efficacy. Under Proposal 1, the dosage, the purity or the quality of the marijuana is unregulated and essentially unknown. This does not meet the ordinary standards of medical care or pharmaceutical practice, and this will put the patient at higher risk for an adverse outcome.

Also, Proposal 1 contains loopholes that would place a consumer at risk. For example, the proposal is silent as to how registered patients will acquire marijuana in the first instance. This can encourage illegal activity that will put our communities at risk.

If passed, Proposal 1 would cause legal confusion, drug enforcement problems and significant health risk for patients. The proposal is simply bad policy that Michigan does not need.

JANET OLSZEWSKI is director of the Michigan Department of Community Health. Write her in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226 or at oped@freepress.com.

http://www.freep.com/article/2008102...810290311/1070 <---- Please look at the comments on this story, there are currently 30 comments and NOT ONE OF THEM IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THIS BS STORY!!

[superface13]

If I had time, I'd rebutt every point this lady makes. I gotta go to work though....so maybe this evening