“Why is marijuana needed when it is already available in pill form?

     "It", if referring to marijuana, is NOT available in pill form.  "It", if referring to THC - the main psychoactive compound in cannabis - is sold by prescription under the name *Marinol* (Dronabinol).  That may seem like a trivial point but we must keep in mind that THC and marijuana are not the same thing.
     Marijuana contains at least 66 active cannabinoids in addition to THC. Research has shown that these other compounds contribute significantly to marijuana’s therapeutic effects. For example, cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to have anti-nausea, anti-anxiety, and anti-inflammatory actions, as well as the ability to protect nerve cells from many kinds of damage. CBD also moderates THC’s effects so patients are less likely to get excessively “high.” Other cannabinoids naturally contained in marijuana have also shown significant
therapeutic promise.
      Also, people who use the pill find that it commonly takes an hour or more to work, while vaporized or smoked marijuana takes effect almost instantaneously. They also find that the dose of THC they have absorbed (in the pill form) is often either too much or too little. Because slow and uneven absorption makes oral dosing of THC so difficult, The Lancet Neurology wrote in May 2003, “Oral administration is probably the least satisfactory route for cannabis.”  In its 2008 position paper on medical marijuana, the American College of Physicians noted, “Oral THC is slow in onset of action but produces more pronounced, and often unfavorable, psychoactive effects than those experienced with smoking.”

     Now let's consider those who use cannabis for its anti-nausea properties.  As Mark Kris, M.D., one member of an expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health in 1997 to review the scientific data on medical marijuana, explained during the group’s discussion on February 20, 1997: “[T]he last thing that [patients] want is a pill when they are already nauseated or are in the act of throwing up.”
     Thousands of patients risk fines and/or jail time for using cannabis even though they could use a THC pill legally.  They obviously think it is worth the risk to use the whole plant versus merely one chemical from the plant.  It is time to legalize cannabis for medicinal use and stop punishing people for choosing a natural medicine for their ailments.

"Isn't Medical Marijuana advocated by the Same People Who Support Drug Legalization?"

     To answer the title question simply, "maybe, but what does that matter?".   Let's look at this objectively...  Some organizations believe that nobody, sick or otherwise, should be sent to prison simply for growing or using their own marijuana. Why is it surprising or scandalous that those organizations think that patients should not go to prison? Should those organizations take the position that healthy marijuana users should not go to prison but medical marijuana users should?  That would be absurd!  It is only common sense that groups like NORML and recreational users in general would be in favor of medical decriminalization.
     There are plenty of groups out there that support medical cannabis use while not endorsing broad-spectrum legalization.   Supporters of medical marijuana include some of the most respected medical and public health organizations, including the American College of Physicians, American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and the state medical societies of New York, California, and Rhode Island.  Poll results show that about half of those who support medical marijuana bills still reject full legalization.
     Let's face it: medical marijuana laws protect patients from jail and/or fines.  That's a good thing, right?  Should seriously ill patients be subject to arrest and imprisonment for using marijuana with their doctors’ approval? If not, then support medical marijuana initiatives.  I personally support an approach to cannabis like other herbs - because that's what cannabis is.  I consume turmeric ground into a powder and put in a fruit/vegetable juice blend  I do this because I believe in its health benefits.  Cannabis should be on par with herbs and spices like turmeric because it is a natural plant with healing properties.  I, like many, believe that healthy as well as sick people should be able to grow and or use cannabis for whatever reasons they desire.  Should society punish those who are sick just to spite people who want full legalization like myself?

"Doesn't Medical Cannabis Send the Wrong Message to Children?"

     Well, now that my break is over, I am ready to resume the blog.  Every now and then we need to take breaks, right?  Anyway,  I will be implementing some changes to my blog starting today.  For the foreseeable future, I have decided to focus primarily on medical cannabis education.  If there is pressing news on the political front or elsewhere, I will attempt to cover it.
     Today I present the first of many questions that people unfamiliar with medical cannabis ask those who support its use: "Supporting medical marijuana sends the wrong message to our kids, doesn't it?" Let me begin by citing the state-sponsored California Student Survey (CSS), which notes that marijuana use among teens rose annually until 1996 - then dropped significantly in subsequent years! By the way, 1996 was the year California'a Proposition 215 passed into law.  CSS researchers found that, "There is no evidence supporting that the passage of Proposition 215 increased marijuana use during this period." ( Skager, Rodney; Austin, Greg; and Wong, Mamie, “Marijuana Use and the Response to Proposition 215 Among California Youth, a Special Study From the California Student Substance Use Survey (Grades 7, 9, and 11) 1997-98.”)
This drop in teen usage has been consistent with the passage of compassionate-care laws in other states as well. ( O’Keefe, Karen et al., “Marijuana Use by Young People: The Impact of State Medical Marijuana Laws.” Marijuana Policy Project, June 2008)
     In addition to these findings, one has to ask himself, "What is really sending the wrong message: medical marijuana or the inconsistencies and hypocrisy of our current system of prohibition?"  Criminalizing sick and injured people for choosing their own health care by way of a natural plant is sending the wrong message to children.  Dishonesty by disseminating false "information" through PSAs and anti-marijuana campaigns is sending the wrong message to children.  Arguing that sick people should continue to suffer for the "children's sake" is sending the wrong message to children.
     Education is the right message for children.  They should be taught the difference between use and abuse.  The Physicians' Desk Reference (the industry standard in regards to FDA-approved drug information) includes over 1,100 of the most commonly prescribed drugs - NONE of which should be used for fun!  We do not teach our children to play with the pills found in a medicine cabinet.  Do you remember the time you first learned that cocaine was used in hospitals as an analgesic?  Did that cause confusion in your mind? Probably not.  Humans generally have the mental faculties to discern between good and bad uses of something.  I personally support gun ownership.  I also carry the responsibility to educate my children that guns are tools that can be used properly or improperly.  Why does society have a double-standard when it comes to cannabis?