2008 Woodie Awards
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER: "High" Level of Tolerance is Needed
Terminally ill patients shouldn't be denied pain relief.
Will Reyes
Issue date: 11/16/05 Section: Opinion
People with terminal and debilitating diseases face more than just the pain from their conditions. The push for a ban on medicinal marijuana, coupled with the negative connotations associated with its use, cause ill people in many states to suffer unnecessary hardships.
Imagine a hard working, responsible adult living with a painful disease like cancer or multiple sclerosis being told by the government that access to the medicine that helps them cope with their ailment is being denied.
It doesn't seem like the American way.
Nevertheless, it's the reality being pushed forward by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Narcotics Officers' Association and others who refuse to acknowledge the benefits of medicinal marijuana.
The opposition cites the risks of addiction and expresses concern about side effects like impaired motor coordination and concentration. Many legal prescription drugs are far more addictive and have lethal side effects but remain available. Is it right to refuse a patient a valid medicine just because it might lead to addiction? I guess we're going to have to outlaw big money prescription drugs.
Shouldn't alcohol, caffeine and nicotine also be banned under those criteria? They're all known to be addictive. Someone warn Starbucks about the wrath of the DEA.
This is not about advocating that teens be allowed to smoke after school. It is about people who are suffering considerable pain from a terminal illness and wanting relief, some with little time to live
The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association and other medical organizations support marijuana use under the supervision of a qualified physician.
Talk show host Montel Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis and is an advocate of medicinal marijuana use. Williams said he has used prescription drugs such as Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin, yet has only found relief through marijuana.
"[It] works for some of us who have neurological pain," he said in an interview with Deborah Norville. "Doctors in several states have prescribed it for me."
Williams is able to remain productive, yet could face jail time.
California is one of 11 states that have passed laws permitting marijuana use by patients with a doctor's approval, but a recent United States Supreme Court ruling states that doctors can be blocked from prescribing it and that federal anti-drug laws supercede state laws on the subject, leaving doctors open to prosecution.
The ruling was supported by the DEA, which has been staging raids since 2001 and arresting patients with conditions ranging from chronic back pain to brain cancer.
That's right, critically ill patients are being arrested.
It's time for us to stop these injustices and find some sympathy.
Thousands of ill Americans deserve that right.
Imagine a hard working, responsible adult living with a painful disease like cancer or multiple sclerosis being told by the government that access to the medicine that helps them cope with their ailment is being denied.
It doesn't seem like the American way.
Nevertheless, it's the reality being pushed forward by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Narcotics Officers' Association and others who refuse to acknowledge the benefits of medicinal marijuana.
The opposition cites the risks of addiction and expresses concern about side effects like impaired motor coordination and concentration. Many legal prescription drugs are far more addictive and have lethal side effects but remain available. Is it right to refuse a patient a valid medicine just because it might lead to addiction? I guess we're going to have to outlaw big money prescription drugs.
Shouldn't alcohol, caffeine and nicotine also be banned under those criteria? They're all known to be addictive. Someone warn Starbucks about the wrath of the DEA.
This is not about advocating that teens be allowed to smoke after school. It is about people who are suffering considerable pain from a terminal illness and wanting relief, some with little time to live
The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association and other medical organizations support marijuana use under the supervision of a qualified physician.
Talk show host Montel Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis and is an advocate of medicinal marijuana use. Williams said he has used prescription drugs such as Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin, yet has only found relief through marijuana.
"[It] works for some of us who have neurological pain," he said in an interview with Deborah Norville. "Doctors in several states have prescribed it for me."
Williams is able to remain productive, yet could face jail time.
California is one of 11 states that have passed laws permitting marijuana use by patients with a doctor's approval, but a recent United States Supreme Court ruling states that doctors can be blocked from prescribing it and that federal anti-drug laws supercede state laws on the subject, leaving doctors open to prosecution.
The ruling was supported by the DEA, which has been staging raids since 2001 and arresting patients with conditions ranging from chronic back pain to brain cancer.
That's right, critically ill patients are being arrested.
It's time for us to stop these injustices and find some sympathy.
Thousands of ill Americans deserve that right.
