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Prescription pot? Only from Bayer and the U.S. government

By Christopher Largen | Opinion | July 18, 2004 | Ventura County Star

The truth really is stranger than fiction. My best friend and co-author, George McMahon, is one of only seven citizens who can legally smoke marijuana in every state of the union. In fact, the U.S. government has provided George with 300 prerolled marijuana cigarettes each month for 14 years, through a program called Investigational New Drug, administered by the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Our government has grown and distributed medical marijuana since 1978. The federal patients use marijuana to treat diverse symptoms of pain, spasms, nausea and glaucoma-related ocular pressure.

Of course, officials won't yet admit their appointed "demon weed" is a medicinal herb. They call the IND program a "research" project instead. However, in 26 years of the program's existence, no government research has been conducted regarding the recipients of the federal marijuana.

Perhaps certain officials don't want to empirically quantify what they already suspect: Marijuana is good medicine, particularly when compared with the often-toxic drugs promoted by pharmaceutical industry lobbyists (well-known in political circles as deep-pocketed campaign contributors).

Had government officials performed the vital research, they would understand why McMahon is alive today. Prior to his acceptance in the IND program, George had been through 19 major surgeries, was declared clinically dead several times, took 17 prescribed substances on a daily basis and was confined to a wheelchair. For the past 14 years, George has smoked 10 marijuana cigarettes each day. During this time, he has had no surgeries or hospitalizations, he no longer takes any pharmaceuticals (aside from the occasional aspirin or antibiotic), and he is fully ambulatory.

He is living proof that marijuana has medical value, yet, many federal legislators refuse to admit it. They stubbornly persist in criminalizing patients, spreading misinformation, defying the express will of the people and denying the states their constitutional authority to resolve the issue independently.

Despite our national hypocrisy regarding medical marijuana, the international medical research on marijuana is astounding. In the United Kingdom, Bayer Corp. is partnering with GW Pharmaceuticals to create Sativex, a natural marijuana extract inhaler that works like a bronchial inhaler, only sublingually.

Sativex relieves symptoms immediately (similar to smoking a marijuana cigarette), without the negative ramifications of smoking. The medicine requires no cleaning or rolling. Sativex is portable and can be used discreetly, without a strong odor.

For many sick and dying patients in the United Kingdom, Sativex will be ideal. The European free market is operating in accord with sensible public policy in order to provide patients with quality medicine.

American patients, however, will be thrown in jail if they use Sativex. Adding insult to injury, Bayer is a major financial contributor to Partnership for a Drug Free America -- an organization that claims marijuana has no medical value. It's enough to make a person sick, especially if they are compassionate and reasonable.

The medical marijuana issue is not about recreation -- it's about patients with painful, debilitating, and life-threatening symptoms.

The American public is certainly capable of making this common-sense distinction between use and abuse. Perhaps that's why national polls repeatedly demonstrate 75 percent to 80 percent approval for the decriminalization of medical marijuana, in spite of the constant flow of government-sponsored "reefer madness" rhetoric.

During my travels across the nation, I've spoken with several legislators who claim they are hesitant to change the medical marijuana laws because they don't want to "send the wrong message" to children. As a father who delivered both his children with his own (trembling) hands, I can empathize with this concern. I don't want my children misusing any substance, be it alcohol, morphine, or marijuana. But if my children ever become sick, then I want them to have access to any medicine, including marijuana-based remedies, which will ease their symptoms and improve their quality of life. And I hope they will never be marginalized, ostracized, or criminalized for the treatment of their disease.

In a laudable but misguided attempt to administer equal justice under the law, our legislators have taken a one-size-fits-all approach in response to therapeutic marijuana. But doctors acknowledge that each person has unique physiological, psychological, and environmental circumstances.

One man's poison is another man's salve. This applies to herbs, drugs and delivery systems alike. Perhaps one day our national leaders will mature enough to grasp this simple principle and implement meaningful reform. Until that day, I'll keep my hopes high by repeating the words of Robert Randall, the first recipient of federal marijuana: "History indicates the most trivial of facts can implode the most powerful dogma."

-- Christopher Largen, of Denton, Texas, is co-author of "Prescription Pot: A Leading Advocate's Heroic Battle to Legalize Medical Marijuana" (New Horizon Press, 2003). His articles on health and disability have appeared in dozens of publications internationally.

http://www.marijuana.com/420/attachm...tid=2814&stc=1
George McMahon with 300 prerolled marijuana cigarettes

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ThugLife469

Where do I sign up?

Plainsman1963

Here is a study that was done with the surviving members of the gov't program. I found it interesting.

You'll need Adobe to read it.

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"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

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