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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US UT: Utahns Campaigning For Medical Use Of Marijuana
ccguide Wednesday 14 Feb 2001 Pubdate: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 Source: Deseret News (UT) Copyright: 2001 Deseret News Publishing Corp. Contact: Address: 30 East 100 South., P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110 Website: http://www.desnews.com/ Author: Lois M. Collins Cited: Utah Therapeutic Humane Cannabis Committee http://www.thc2002.org/ UTAHNS CAMPAIGNING FOR MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA Petition Drive Gets Under Way On The Hill Wednesday Morphine is a frequently prescribed medication to relieve pain. It's also a drug that's used illegally for recreational purposes. The same is true of cocaine. Though it's thought of more in terms of a war on drugs, derivatives are used by dentists and doctors. Now a group of Utahns is launching a campaign to have the medical applications of cannabis (marijuana) legalized. They will kick off a signature drive at the Capitol at 3 p.m. Wednesday to get the issue put on the ballot. "We want physicians to be allowed to prescribe it for those patients for whom it's useful," said Ken Larsen, a biologist and medical researcher who is chairman of the Utah Therapeutic Humane Cannabis Committee. "We wonder how it's reasonable that more serious, dangerous drugs are allowed use as medications. We hope this one-year campaign will gather the necessary 76,000 signatures to put it on the ballot." The measure would protect doctors in prescribing cannabis as treatment for certain medical conditions, protect the patient who has a prescription from prosecution and protect the person who supplies the product to someone with a valid prescription. Marijuana products, in various forms, are reported to help people suffering from a variety of illnesses, including glaucoma, Tourette's syndrome, cancer, AIDS wasting syndrome, multiple sclerosis and other ailments. Voters in seven states and the District of Columbia have approved medical use of cannabis. And a variety of professional medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association, have voiced support for allowing doctors to prescribe cannabis. Opponents say it's an effort to legalize marijuana. Committee vice chairman Ben Valdez Jr. disagrees. "The message we should be sending to children is that cannabis is a medicine and like all medicines, it should be treated with respect and not abused." Larsen said his own research convinced him that the substance could relieve suffering. He studied tetrahydrocannabis with aspirin for arthritis patients. They didn't have the serious stomach ailments others get without the THC, he said. "A lot of prescription drugs are irritating to the stomach or bowels and ought to have THC in them. It protects the intestinal lining." Larsen said the question hasn't been too controversial in Utah, where he said people seem to accept that mind-altering drugs can be "perfectly legitimate when used in medical applications." But he said he hopes that not only supporters of the petition drive but those who disagree will show up and discuss it on Wednesday. Information about medicinal use of cannabis and the petition drive are online at www.thc2002.org. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe
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