Marijuana Medicine Evaluation Centers

I was reading a blog post that was in my Google Alerts today and thought it worth linking to. I should say though, that the blog is on the 'Marijuana Medicine Evaluation Centers' web site, so you can read into that whatever you wish. However, the post was well thought out, well referenced, and produced good arguments for medicinal cannabis.

The post covers some interesting topics and I'd recommend you read the full article. Here is a sample:

Marijuana is not only useful in treating cancer patients. It has also been shown to help people with glaucoma, AIDS, neurological disorders, muscle spasticity, seizure disorders, and chronic pain. This evidence alone shows that it cannot honestly be classified as a Schedule I drug. It definitely does have some therapeutic value. Instead of blindly forbidding the use of marijuana in the United States, the government could look at how its use, with a doctor’s prescription, can benefit many members of society. This way, doctors and patients could make educated choices about the right medications to use in their treatment, without legal restrictions, and patients would be able to get the best possible medication; however, legalizing marijuana, even only for medicinal uses, would be hard to do in this country mainly because of the widely held belief that marijuana is a gateway drug to harsher and more dangerous substances. If oncologists would stress the upside of legalizing marijuana for their patient, that would add legitimacy to the argument. Testimonials by cancer patients what would illustrate the relief they would gain by smoking marijuana would also have impact. A public awareness campaign including both print and television media would also be beneficial. The case would have to be made to those who are not presently suffering the effects of chemotherapy, as well as to those who are. This case should be easy to make because no one is immune from cancer and most everyone is afraid of the pain and sickness associated with the disease and its treatment, or knows someone who is. The campaign to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes and the eventual legalization of marijuana for these purposes would greatly benefit a large number of people who are currently suffering from this disease, and people who may develop this disease in the future.