Medical Use of Marijuana
Eleven states now permit legal medical use
People should have the right to use any substance they believe may be
helpful in their pursuit of physical health and well being. While
most people would prefer to consult with trained medical professionals
about their healthcare questions, there is nothing innately wrong with
a person making his or her own medical choices, not only about
medicine but about health care in general. Medical rights include the
right to take or refuse to take medicines, herbs, therapies, and any
other medical treatment.
Marijuana is one example of a natural substance that has been used
worldwide as a medicine since before recorded history. Only since 1937
has its use been banned in the United States. Medical use of marijuana
has gained a lot of publicity since voters began passing state
initiatives legalizing medical use in the early 1990s. Over 11 states
now allow for medical use, including California, Oregon, Washington,
Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Maine, and Montana.
Four polls of Arkansas voters conducted since 2000 show that about
two-thirds of the state's voters (63-66%) support this reform.
Mainstream medical associations support the idea that doctors should
be free from fear of prosecution if they wish to discuss alternative
therapies such as marijuana with their patients, but stop short of
calling for the legalization of medical use. This is due to the claim that marijuana has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, that smoking is never a good way to administer a drug, and that raw marijuana cannot be ‘dosed' in measurable amounts.
For a complete discussion of the medical question pertaining to marijuana, visit Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas, Inc. at www.arkansasalliance.org Supporters of this reform have worked since 1999 to gain voter signatures on petitions which would place the question before voters and to pass a law through legislative action.
Yes! Say over 63% of Arkansas registered voters, polled three times since 1999.
Yes! Say over 75% of persons polled nationally.
Yes! Say voters and legislators in eleven states, including Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Maine and Montana.
Yes! Say the National Association for Public Health Policy, New England Journal of Medicine, Kaiser Permanente, and over a hundred other respected medical, legal, and advocacy organizations.
Now it time for Arkansas to say YES!, according to the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas, Inc. Supporters of this reform have worked since 1999 to pass a law in Arkansas that would set up a legal medical marijuana system for the state.
"Illegal Healthcare: Medical Marijuana and Arkansas" is a 20 minute video produced by DPEG featuring Arkansas patients and explaining more about the need for this proposed law. Click Here Illegal Healthcare Video (view online) to view the video.
See also our Rebuttal to the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration's argument: "Exposing the Myth of Medical Marijuana."
More information:
Hosted by Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School and author of several works on marijuana. Especially recommended is Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine. www.rxmarihuana.com
Patients Out of Time maintains a list of organizations and individuals who endorse the legal availability of marijuana for medical purposes. At this site, you can order videos of their recent conference on cannabis therapeutics hosted by the University of Iowa School of Nursing. MedicalCannabis.com
Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, hosted by Robert Randall, the first American supplied with medical marijuana by the federal government. His book is available at this site, Marijuana Rx: The Patients' Fight for Medicinal Pot. Marijuana-as-medicine.org
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