Letter: Debunking Myth About Use of Marijuana
Daniel M. Davidson
August 14, 2008
Lexington Herald-Leader
In a Feb. 14 position paper, the American College of Physicians, the second largest physician group in the country, endorsed the medical use and reclassification of marijuana.
The physicians group now joins the ranks of dozens of other national medical groups urging an ease on cannabis regulation in the face of what many consider overwhelming scientific evidence of its medicinal usefulness.
"ACP urges review of marijuana's status as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and reclassification into a more appropriate schedule, given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana's safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions." Schedule 1 drugs, such as LSD and heroin, translate to a substance having "no accepted medical use and unsafe for use even under medical supervision."
The paper cites significant evidence that cannabis relieves the nausea, vomiting and wasting that accompany cancer, AIDS and other diseases, while lessening the pain associated with multiple sclerosis and many other conditions.
Another myth dispelled by the paper is that marijuana acts as a "gateway drug," leading to the use of more harmful substances. "Marijuana has not been proven to be the cause or even the most significant predictor of serious drug abuse."
Twelve states have used the democratic process of voting to allow the use of medical marijuana. One man in Washington, the drug czar John P. Walters, has said voters be damned. If he says it should be illegal, it will remain illegal no matter what science, the medical community or the voters want.
What's wrong with this picture?
Daniel M. Davidson, Carlisle | 
