Medical Experts Disagree on Marijuana Ruling

[Horse with no Name]

>>>snip
"I think it's a tragedy that a drug that's apparently safe and is effective as an analgesic, a real pain reliever, isn't available to patients who need it," he said from his home in Malibu, Calif. "The law is totally out of touch with reality -- it's inappropriate, and the result of an uninformed bureaucracy."

>>>>snip
"From a purely medical standpoint, there seems to be ample evidence for efficacy in a variety of symptoms that plague patients or cause distress for patients with a variety of chronic, progressive illnesses," he said. "Also, there's increasing scientific evidence that leads us to understand why the active ingredients -- various cannabinoids -- do have therapeutic value."

>>>>>snip
Next week, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on an appropriations bill that would prohibit the Justice Department from spending money to enforce federal drug laws against patients using medical marijuana. While a similar amendment failed last year, 19 Republicans voted for it. The bill was not brought to a vote in the Senate, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

>>>>snip
For Lamers, the Court's decision remains disheartening. "The law must be changed," he said. "I can't support breaking the law and I can't advise others to do it. All I can say is that as a doctor who does an awful lot of work with patients in pain, marijuana is a very effective, safe and relatively inexpensive pain reliever."

http://www.rednova.com/news/health/154574/medical_experts_disagree_on_marijuana_ruling/index.html

It just galls me that so MUCH is wrong with our country, and our leaders spend time worrying about this?
Give me a break.

[aden_nak]

1. "relatively inexpensive pain reliever" -- And THAT is why it's illegal.

[atommom]

2. Exactly. It's OK to prescribe Oxycontin, or any of the other

addictive prescription drugs, but NOT a naturally-occurring remedy. If marijuana had to be produced in a laboratory, we'd probably all have a bottle of it in our medicine cabinet.