Marijuana Policy Project

Dr. Pace's letter said academic medicine agrees with the FDA's statement that, "There are no sound scientific studies" supporting the medical use of marijuana. However, the second largest medical organization in the U.S., the American College of Physicians, published a report this year supporting rescheduling marijuana and noting its medical benefits.

Organized medicine in New York, including the Associated Medical Schools of New York, agree that patients should not be subjected to criminal penalties for using marijuana according to their doctors’ recommendations.

Although the federal government often obstructs medical marijuana research, numerous studies have shown marijuana's medical value. One showed that marijuana tripled the chances of nauseated HIV/AIDS patients adhering to their medications. Another found that marijuana relieved HIV/AIDS neuropathy, for which there is no FDA-approved medicine.

All medications have side effects. Yet, unlike even Tylenol, which causes hundreds of overdose deaths annually, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death. I submit that dying is a far worse side effect than anyone has suffered from marijuana.

This issue is personal to me. I'm a licensed physician, but also a patient who has suffered severe, constant pain from a genetic disorder for more than 20 years. For years, I treated my pain with Aleve. It precipitated my first bout of Crohn's disease and every relapse since. Now, I am forced to use narcotic medicines to endure my pain.

While visiting Amsterdam, I tried marijuana for pain control. It was a miracle for me, allowing me to stop my narcotics and sleep through the night without being awakened by pain. Because I have never used illegal drugs and will not use marijuana without the state's approval, I am now back to being awakened by terrible pain, and again have to take incredibly addictive and dangerous narcotic pain medications.

Kevin Smith, MD, Kingston