Pot times

VOTE ON MARIJUANA ISSUE WAS CORRECT

Rep.  Tom Petri voted, along with a 2:1 majority in the House, exactly as he should have on the medical marijuana issue.  His vote reflects the identical conclusion the U.S.  Supreme Court reached on this same matter earlier this month. 

There is simply no need for "medical" marijuana.  For those patients who might benefit from delta-9-THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, dronabinol ( Marinol ), is already available by prescription from any physician. 

Dronabinol, synthetic THC, is taken orally, not smoked.  It is a standardized dose from reliable manufacturers and is prescribed and dispensed in the same manner as other medications.  There are only two conditions for which THC has been proven to be helpful in some patients--AIDS-related appetite loss and nausea and vomiting accompanying some cancer chemotherapies.  There are ample alternatives for treatment of glaucoma. 

The problem, from my view through many years of following this issue, is that medical marijuana "clinics" provide easy opportunity for diversion which is why Federal enforcement personnel still need to be involved as Rep.  Petri's vote allows.  Beyond that, the number of conditions for which marijuana is touted as being effective, ranging from asthma to seizures, exceeds any drug with which I am familiar.  There simply is no drug that versatile.  Finally, there is no other medication that uses smoking as a delivery system. 

What I do support, as does Congress, is legitimate research in accredited laboratories toward evaluating objectively those conditions that might benefit from THC or other cannabinoids, and if some are identified, then developing the usual, non-smoking delivery systems for such medications in standardized doses.  That is the sensible and thoughtful direction in which we should be proceeding. 

Rep.  Petri should be commended, not criticized, for his enlightened vote on this issue. 

Darold A.  Treffert, M.D. 

Fond du Lac