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Dear Editor,
Bill O'Reilly is right! If you remove the digs on George Soros, fear
mongering, and disinformation veiled as fact, his Op-Ed, "High on
Compassion" hits the mark on these important points:
- Cannabis is medicine that should be available to patients. "If marijuana
can help those suffering with debilitating diseases, then doctors should
have the power to prescribe it and licensed pharmacies should carry it."
- Cannabis distribution to patients should be regulated. "Incredibly,
there
is no age requirement to secure medical marijuana in California"
- Non-medical use by children should be discouraged. "there is nothing
"compassionate" about kids being intoxicated."
- The War on Drugs is wrong. "Society needs to rethink its strategy on
intoxicants in general."
Unlike California, Ohio has the opportunity to roll-out medicinal cannabis
the right way. State legislators are now considering such legislation for
Ohio. All of O'Reillys points should be taken into consideration:
availability for patients, state regulation of distribution, and the
discouraging of use by children. As he wisely points out, we do indeed need
to rethink our antiquated drug war strategies toward this medicine.
One correction is in order, however. According to the DASIS Report of the
U.S. Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, 58% of admissions to treatment for marijuana come from the
criminal justice system; in other words, from the over 700,000 arrests for
cannabis each year.
Let's listen closely to the spirit of what Mr. O'Reilly says about
compassion, not his vitriol, fear mongering, or disinformation.
Mary Jane Borden
President, Ohio Patient Network
Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2007
Source: Times Recorder (Zanesville, OH)
Copyright: 2007 Times Recorder
Contact: http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=CUSTOMERSERVICE20
Website: http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2740
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n000/a051.html
Author: Mary Jane Borden
***and***
Newshawk: Hawked with Hawkform www.mapinc.org/newshawk
Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2007
Source: Coshocton Tribune (OH)
Copyright: 2007 Coshocton Tribune
Contact: http://www.coshoctontribune.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.coshoctontribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3213
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n387/a07.html
Author: Mary Jane Borden |
