1108 Medical Marijuana

This is not a topic on which I am even minimally informed, but I'll weigh in anyway. I've never understood why conservatives are against using marijuana to releave suffering and pain, especially considering the devastating side effects of some prescribed pain meds. And please don't tell me it's because pharmaceutical companies (owned by eeeeviiiil Republicans) don't want the competition from something cheap and natural. We hear that about every vaccine and miracle drug that comes down the pike--what would happen to this particular health care bureaucracy if a disease were really cured. I worked in a medical library for over 14 years and constantly browsed the serials, and let me assure you there are plenty of diseases re-emerging (just check out this month's CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases on my links) or today's article in WSJ about the increase in drug resistant TB. The real danger is the left killing off incentive to invest in R & D and the health care industry.

However, medical marijuana doesn't have the poisoning side effects or even the addictive powers of many of the chemical potions we've created in the lab. I have a relative who's had two major surgeries (different body parts) in the last 3 years, and both times had to take special treatments to get her off the pain killer addictions even though she was extremely careful.

More disturbing to conservatives should be the Supreme Court seeing this as the commerce clause and striking it down for that reason.

"Writing for the court majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said the case was "troubling" because of users' claims that they needed marijuana to alleviate physical pain and suffering. But he concluded that the court had no choice but to uphold Congress's "firmly established" power to regulate "purely local activities . . . that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce." " WaPo article June 7

Makes you wonder what the Supremes were smoking while coming up with this.