By Derek Varsalona
For certain people in pain due to a terminal illness or a disability, the choice of legalizing marijuana is obvious. Not only would marijuana help rid their pain temporally, but it would also help them go through their daily lives without wondering if the prescribed medication is really helping.
People opposed to medical marijuana tend to come up with the weirdest clams. For example, Dr. Stephen J. Heishmen a research psychologist for National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) claimed, “Driving and marijuana don’t mix; that’s the bottom line.” According to Dr. Heishman, “32 percent of the drivers in a shock trauma unit at a Baltimore hospital had marijuana in their system during the time of the accident.” Honestly, nobody is advocating that people attempt to drive after smoking marijuana. In legal terms this would be considered driving under the influence. In recent studies, six to 12 percent of non-fatally injured drivers and four to 16 percent of fatally injured drivers were under the influence of marijuana. Even medical marijuana advocates agree that the drug impairs certain senses. Medical marijuana advocates only argue that it can help relieve the pain of certain aliments, if prescribed drugs are not helping. Marijuana is not proven to cure any illness or disease.
The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for approving what types of drugs are considered “medicine.” The FDA has not approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), Congress has listed marijuana as a Schedule I Drug. A Schedule I Drug has three major flaws. First, the substance of a Schedule I Drug has a very high potency for abuse. Second, there is no accepted medical use in the United States for Schedule I Drugs. Third, Schedule I Drugs lack the acceptable safety data for use under medical supervision. So, is it fair for a patient to unnecessarily suffer pain that could otherwise be thwarted? I would rather rid myself of the pain in an instant if I could. Using marijuana for medical purposes would at least make the pain manageable.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, M.D., “Marijuana use is a major public health problem in the United States. In the past 20 years, its use has increased 30-fold; it is estimated that more than a quarter of the American population has used it. The age, which a person first uses marijuana has decreased gradually to junior high school years. Until recently, nearly 11 percent of high school seniors used it and although the figure has declined seven percent, its daily use still exceeds that of alcohol; more high school seniors use marijuana then smoke cigarettes. In a recent study, 32 percent of those surveyed had used marijuana during the pervious 30 days, while 25 percent had smoked tobacco.” This shows that there is a high usage of marijuana among teenage students.
Like all drugs, marijuana does have side effects. Opponents of medical marijuana are quick to claim that marijuana leads to short-term memory loss. That is true, but what the opponents fail to mention is that the short-term memory loss only occurs while you are smoking marijuana.
Pro-medical marijuana advocates do not urge people taking marijuana for a prolonged period of time. Advocates for medical marijuana, support the idea of only using marijuana as a coping mechanism to relieve the pain of certain illnesses. The Marijuana Party would advocate that only after the patient is cured of their illness, should the patient be denied further usage of marijuana.
There are many people that could benefit from medical marijuana. Jackie Rickert of Mondovi, N.Y. is one of them. Jackie can definitely relate to a potential patients pain prior to using marijuana. She too is a marijuana user and has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and reflexive sympathetic dystrophy. These are both bone and muscle diseases, which have put her in a wheelchair. The disease also makes her weigh less then 100 pounds. Jackie uses marijuana to help her keep the pain of both aliments under control. The marijuana also helps bring back her appetite. In 1990, she was accepted into the federal program that dispenses marijuana for medical purposes. In 2000, the Mondovi police raided Rickert’s home and spent 10 hours inside, looking for marijuana. After 10 hours of invading her privacy, the police came up with only a minimal amount of bags and pipes. Luckily for Jane, the Buffalo County District Attorney, Frank J. Clark, decided to drop the pending charges. This only helped Rickert escape criminal charges for possession of marijuana. It did not help her psychologically. She was left traumatized by the event.
Fortunately for Jane Rickert, there is at least a party that looks out for her best interest; the Marijuana Reform Party. Ohio Congressmen Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) ran for President this year with the U.S. Marijuana Reform Party, which advocates the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. On the local level, the state of New York also has a Marijuana Reform Party.
The New York State Marijuana Reform Party has put forth many sensible arguments for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. First, it is important to note again that the New York chapter is not calling for a total legalization of marijuana. They believe that children should be educated about the potential dangers of marijuana usage by means of drug education programs. This program would give students positive legal alternatives to combat recreational marijuana and illegal narcotic use. Second, they do not believe that people should be evicted from their homes or apartments, or have their cars and other assets seized for using marijuana for medical purposes.
The call for legalization of medical marijuana is by no means a new concept. Today, twenty-eight states now allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes. In New York, a controlled substance research program has been implemented since June of 1980. New Jersey started their legalization program a year later in June of 1981. The people that would be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes in New York State include people that are suffering from glaucoma, and other life or sensory-threatening illnesses.
It is time for the federal government to wake up, and make a common sense health care reform by legalizing marijuana for medical purposes across the entire country. The states have spoken and the U.S. Supreme Court will look at the issue of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes this session. The public has spoken and public opinion supports medical marijuana. As for people that use it for recreational purposes, they should have to deal with the local authorities to the full extent of the law.