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Yes, Virginia, There Is Medical Marijuana.
by James Glaser October 13, 2014 
On May 8th of 2003, my wife, Charmaine, died in our home under the supervision of the Hospice Program. Charmaine had been very ill for seven years and had multiple bowel resections. After each operation, adhesions would grow and block off another section of her bowel. Well, over those seven years there were many ups and downs. For one six month period she was fed through a tube, and whenever we went any place, I had a backpack on that housed her pump. and there was a tube that tethered us together. When Charmaine started back to eating by mouth, she had no appetite, and when she did eat she was always felt sick. One doctor from the Mayo Clinic asked me if she had ever tried marijuana. Actually, he asked if we had tried pot. I said, "No, but we will." No, marijuana did not cure her, but it did make the last three years of her life much, much better. She actually gained a bit of weight, and she no longer felt nauseous after every meal. I know smoking pot is not good for you, I learned that back in college. It didn't take me long to figure out that if I wanted to really get the most possible out of my four years that I could, smoking pot or drinking alcohol were not going to help me at all. Of course, being a Vietnam Vet, it would be hard to claim I have never smoked pot, and to be honest, my advice about doing drugs is that if you are ever in a combat situation, hang out with the pot heads and not the drinkers. People high on pot tend to come back down when the adrenalin hits, but drunks stay drunk. After Vietnam and college I used to get high every November 10th with another Marine Nam Vet on the Marine Corps birthday. It seemed like a good excuse, but even that got old after a while, so we cut that out. All my life I have seen talented artists who get high show me their work, and sure it looks good. But when you see what they can do when they are not high, their work is so much better. Me, I'm a wood worker, and doing any sort of drug and then working with power tools is not a good idea. So, while I don't condone the use of marijuana or alcohol, I have learned that there is a place for marijuana in the medical field. These States have made it legal for their citizens to use marijuana for medical problems such as cancer, nausea, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and glaucoma: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Here in Florida the Medical Use of Marijuana is going to be on the ballot this year. I am not going to tell you how you should vote. However, if you are of voting age, you must know that marijuana is in every small town and big city and rural county in America. If you or a loved one is sick with any of the very serious diseases for which many states allow the use of marijuana to help with some of the symptoms, then you will know those people are not using this plant to get high. They are using it as another medical tool in an effort to help themselves or loved one. Passing this bill will not spread the use of marijuana, as it has already spread far and wide. This bill only allows those who could benefit medically from the use of marijuana to use it without the stress of breaking the law. |
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