It is a travesty that we spend as much money in this country as we do to incarcerate non-violent people. Meanwhile, their children grow up with them, in poverty. In the prosperous country, there are many hungry people, ill-clothed, with no health insurance. Meanwhile, we continue to spend increasing amounts of money on prisons for non-violent “offenders.” I believe this offends the heart of Jesus far more than using one of God’s plants to ease the suffering of his children.                                                        

Linda Walker, Little Rock

Patricia and Thomas Pardo, Norfork

John L. Burrow, Fayetteville

R. D., Little Rock

       Theresa E. Adair, Conway

T. B., Bentonville

 T. T., Banks

B. W., Little Rock

LTE published in the AR Democrat-Gazette 8.9.2002
To the Editor:
 
Asa Hutchinson is either terribly misinformed or intentionally misleading the public when he says there is “no evidence that smoking marijuana has any medicinal value.”

Mr. Hutchinson is remiss for not reading the $10 million federal study commissioned in 1997. Conducted by esteemed physician and scientist
members of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, the study reviewed all prior clinical research on marijuana and confirmed
that marijuana offers unique therapeutically beneficial effects including “pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation.”
 
Mr. Hutchinson’s enthusiasm for his job should be tempered with more common sense and compassion. Surely reasonable people would agree that relief from pain and suffering is more worthy than pursuit of a ineffective government policy. As a decent human being, Mr. Hutchinson should acknowledge his error about marijuana.
 
Mr. Hutchinson talks out of both sides of his mouth on more topics than marijuana. He’s asked for a vastly increased budget and is visiting 26
states on a methamphetamine tour, noting a rise from 72 Arkansas “labs” to 366 “labs” in six years. Yet he wants us to believe that current drug policies are “a phenomenal success.”
 
He says doctors shouldn’t worry about DEA busting down their doors for over-prescribing pain relievers. Yet a recent report by the Institute of Medicine confirms that patients are suffering unnecessarily because doctors are afraid to prescribe adequate pain medication.
 
It’s too bad Mr. Hutchinson is willing to resort to lies and half truths to prop up failed policy.
 
Denele Campbell
Published AR Democrat-Gazette Aug 9, 2002

This letter was printed in Aging AR.

Dear Editor:

You have a wonderful publication for the people of Arkansas and beyond. 

I really enjoyed your edition dealing with depression and suicide (February 2002). However, in your article, there was no mention of medical marijuana as a possible treatment for depression, pain and other medical problems.

Although it is still illegal in Arkansas, many western states have authorized its use for many of these problems. Marijuana has a long and distinguished history as a legal medicine in this country until 1937.

I have found it to be beneficial in treatment of many maladies associated with my 35 years as a paraplegic.

Name withheld on request

You can submit letters to Aging AR at

This following batch of  letters were published in The Morning News. If they inspire you to write, email the Morning News editor at news@nwaonline.net (and remember to cc: alliance@ardpark.org )

The Morning News,. Published: 06/09.01

Marijuana Can Be Safe

I am 65 years old, a widow of 11 years, with four grown children. I vote. I pay my bills. I am a college graduate. In my 50 years of driving I've never had a traffic violation. I've never been sued or slandered. However, with the statement I'm about to make, the latter may occur.

I believe marijuana needs to be decriminalized in this country. I believe medical marijuana needs to be available to all those, including myself, who suffer from debilitating disease and pain. I believe every person who agrees with me needs to stand up and be counted. Come out, come out, whoever and wherever you are, to unite, educate and inform all that marijuana is not an evil killer drug but simply safe herbal medicine. 

"Abuse is not an argument against proper use" -- slogan used for (the proposed) Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act. Join ARDPArk and/or the Drug Policy Education Group today. 

B. Jean Cooper 
Lowell

The Morning News, Published: 06/4/01

Intolerance and ignorance not Christ-like

Thank you for allowing me to express my opinion on certain matters.During my 15 years in Benton County I have kept my mouth shut, observing the society that I dwell in. One should recognize the fact that others have an opinion. Just because we state that opinion should not make others hate or become polarized to our position, but it does. You Christians that show your hate and intolerance are only displaying what Christ was not. You people who are supposed to be intelligent and well-educated seem to get caught up in the rhetoric and hate that perpetuates only from intolerance and ignorance.

I am a man. An American man. Indian (Cherokee), Irish, German, Black Dutch. I represent what has come and what shall always be America, diversity. I am a single parent (16 years), striving to keep my family to ether and alive in a hostile (perfect society) environment. I am self-employed. I represent the ability to make your own way with the will of determination. I am a veteran (six years). I represent the patriotic sons of Liberty. I am on the Dean 's List at NWACC. I represent the yearning for betterment of self.

Finally, I am a marijuana user, I represent the normal American striving for natural medicines, and the freedom to choose them. I am a Judean/Christian and cannot hate you no matter how hard you try. I leave Benton County and all my memories, friends and love of the earth here soon. Good-bye and try not to hate so much (but you will).

JERRY L.HAWKINS JR.
Rogers

The Morning News, Published: 06/10/01

Legal Dope A Bitter Pill

I'm sorry to see from Greg Hoggatt's letter (Public Viewpoint, May 27) that he's so upset about efforts to legalize medical use of marijuana. I don't quite understand why he's having such a hard time with this. I've had several people in law enforcement voice support for such reforms. One of them said he didn't know why doctors couldn't prescribe marijuana when they could prescribe morphine and cocaine. Another one said that no one wanted to arrest or jail sick people.

But that's what our police and deputies have to do under current law. It's not their job to selectively enforce the law. The law is the law, and right now it doesn't matter if you are dying of cancer and using marijuana to help you through chemotherapy -- if you get caught, you're arrested. What a waste of taxpayer dollars. What cruelty to people facing so much pain and despair. 

From previous letters written by Mr. Hoggatt, I assume he is an enthusiastic supporter of current prohibition policies. I assume this is because he believes drug abuse is bad and current policies are the best answer.

Perhaps he is not aware of a recent study completed at the request of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which concluded that the government does not have and never has had any method by which to measure the success of its drug policies. 

Any fool might observe that current policies aren't working. We're spending $40 billion per year, trillions so far. More police, more jails, GIs in foreign jungles and herbicides banned in the U.S. being air-dropped on the Amazon watershed. Are we winning yet? 

Things keep getting worse. We've got methamphetamine labs popping up on every corner. Twelve-year-old kids have easier access to LSD and heroin than ever before. Addicts desperate for help can't get treatment. I hate to break it to Mr. Hoggatt, but this doesn't speak too well for the current policies he's so hot to maintain. 

Yet to prop up this miserable failure, Mr. Hoggatt would deny sick and dying people the legal use of something that makes them feel better. Mr. Hoggatt tries to make a case that marijuana is somehow not legitimate medicine because it doesn't come from a pharmaceutical corporation. Then he acknowledges that one of marijuana's key active ingredients is marketed as a pharmaceutical. So much for his claim that there is nothing of medical value in marijuana. He claims that marijuana is no good as medicine because it is smoked. If he has something against smoking, does he want to make tobacco illegal too? Yet smoking is the key to marijuana' success with so many patients. If you're puking up your guts, it's kind of hard to take a pill.

(Our Web site) documents real experiences and shows why  marijuana is critical to the life and health of Arkansas people ... at   www.ardpark.org.

Denele Campbell
West Fork

COURT AND CONGRESS WAGING HYPOCRITICAL DRUG WAR

No doubt some of the people who support the use of medical marijuana are disingenuous--what they really want is to be able to grow and smoke their own. That doesn't mean they don't believe marijuana can be helpful to some sick people, just that their main objective is securing the right to legally toke up themselves, not providing aid and comfort to terminal patients. 

That is fine.

Some of my friends probably smoke pot. There are probably pot smokers in this newsroom. And whether you know it or not, you're probably in the same position I am. 

I don't know who these dope fiends are, and I wouldn't care to guess. I almost never speculate on who might use marijuana and who might not. There are certain risks a person may or may not consider worth taking but it's difficult to understand how my pot-smoking friends are doing anything very wrong. Technically they may be breaking the law, but pot smokers are hardly a public menace to anyone.

That doesn't mean I approve of smoking marijuana. It is against the law and I do try to obey the law. I wouldn't put myself in a position to risk my neat job or my comfortable life because I believe prohibition is wrong. I'm not that interested in the mood-altering affects of cannabis--even in Amsterdam I stayed out of the coffee houses because they were either seedy or overcrowded with  tourists.

If I think anything about my friends' pot-smoking at all I guess I consider it something less than an act of civil disobedience; I don't think it's a political act but something rather more quaint, a nostalgic indulgence to remind themselves how wild and free they used to be. I don't see it as much different from riding a motorcycle--except that riding a motorcycle is more dangerous and more fun. 

I feel bad about the Supreme Court's decision that they can't argue with Congress about the medical usefulness of marijuana. If cancer patients believe marijuana helps them, then they ought to have access to it. And if people want to grow and smoke a green leafy substance, then I think that's their business. 

One of the great things about this country is that you don't have to be brave to write a newspaper column. A coward could say these things I want to say about these stupid laws without putting himself in jeopardy. I wouldn't risk anything to argue for the decriminalization of marijuana; I like to think I'd save myself for something more important than any imagined right to get high. 

My position on marijuana is a little complicated: I've never really felt too bad for the people who claim their "religion" considers marijuana use a sacrament and that they should be legally entitled to grow their own on "church" property. It's not a church just because you call it a church. I don't mind laws that encourage dope-smokers to use a little discretion--maybe smoking dope in public should be a finable offense. 

There's a real possibility the decriminalization of marijuana would increase the use of this drug in this country. Maybe that's not such a good thing--marijuana isn't any worse than booze but prolonged smoking can sap one's ambition and fog one's brain and it can't be good for one's lungs. 

While I don't credit those who claim that it's health-giving and wholesome, I'm pretty sure that it actually helps some sick people stay alive by stimulating dormant appetites. In some cases it can relieve nausea and it certainly makes some terminally ill people feel better.  

Willfully introducing a mind-altering substance into one's body may be morally suspect and medically unwise, but it ought not be, in itself, a crime. That is one libertarian idea that makes absolute sense; the government's influence should, at the very least, stop at the epidermis. 

I'm not sure I want big business marketing marijuana. In California and Arizona, the ad hoc cannabis clubs seem to have done a relatively good job at supplying it to people who either need or desperately want the drug. Legalization might bring a whole new set of problems. For now the best policy might be to simply relax the already erratic enforcement of the laws against marijuana possession. 

In other words, if you want to smoke dope, OK, you can smoke dope, but please try to use a little discretion.  

Most people understand what marijuana is; while we don't have connections or toke up regularly we aren't dumb. We've had some experiences, we know that there is a qualitative difference between marijuana and harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. 

I've never bought marijuana in my life but if I had to get a bag tomorrow it would probably take me two phone calls.

Maybe less.

If they sold packs of marijuana--shrink-wrapped with tax stamps affixed--down at the local convenience store, most of us wouldn't bother experimenting. A lot of potheads would smoke more dope if it were cheaper, easier to procure and they didn't have to deal with unsavory drug-dealer types. But so what?

That doesn't mean that driving under the influence of a mind-altering substance, or supplying an underage person with such a substance, shouldn't constitute a crime. Society certainly has an interest in protecting itself from the addled and the impaired, and it should certainly take measures to control and discourage the use of drugs.

What most people have come to understand is the so-called War on Drugs, and particularly the War on Marijuana, is irrational. It is difficult to conceive a more stupid response to the eradication of the public health problems illicit drugs create in this country. It is not a war on drugs at all, but a war on the rights of citizens. It is--whether by design or happenstance--an instrument by which the government can continue to expand its influence at the expense of personal liberty. 

Of course, sick people should be given drugs that help them. Terminal patients ought to be allowed to smoke marijuana if that's how they--and their doctors--choose to deal with their discomfort. The only reason that this subject is open for debate is because there are disingenuous politicians--some of whom have admitted that they "experimented" with marijuana in their youth--who believe that there is still political capital to be made.

This bipartisan hypocrisy maintains a war on pot ought to bother all of us. We ought to be discouraged by a Supreme Court that chooses to sustain a legal fiction minted by Congress--that there is no valid medical use for  marijuana--rather than see the truth.

Philip Martin -- May 20, 2001

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n902/a06.html
Newshawk: Beth www.drugsense.org/dpfil
Pubdate: Sun, 20 May 2001
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR)
Copyright: 2001 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Contact: voices@ardemgaz.com
Website: http://www.ardemgaz.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/25
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager

THE LAW IS AN ASS

Some general observations on last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling against "medical marijuana." 

The court ruled correctly. More accurately, given both the court's constitutional mandate to interpret the law as written and the written nature of the law in question this time around, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the justices had no choice but to rule as they did. 

As long as marijuana is classified in federal law as an illegal Schedule I substance, there exists little legal wriggle room in which to carve out the kind of medical-necessity exception for cannabis clubs as featured in the laws of California and other states. 

To quote Clarence Thomas' straightforward majority opinion, the court ruled as it did "because federal courts interpret, rather than author, the federal criminal code, we are not at liberty to rewrite it." 

The failure to provide a medical-necessity exception for marijuana in the law is profoundly unjust. Scientific research and an accumulating body of patient experience suggests that marijuana is useful for combating the symptoms associated with a range of serious and painful medical conditions, including AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

To allow sick people suffering from such problems to obtain relief is precisely the reason medical marijuana movements initially developed and spread, to the point of producing the passage of medical necessity laws so far in eight states. 

Thus, as conservative writer Richard Brookhiser notes after his own (illegal) use of marijuana to alleviate the nausea flowing from chemotherapy treatments for his testicular cancer, "The law disgraces itself when it harasses the sick." 

The nation thus awaits even one argument as to how people who turn to marijuana to reduce their suffering from terrible diseases in any way harm themselves or the surrounding society.  

Simple logic and mercy, therefore, dictate that the law which the court had no choice but to uphold should be changed. Whatever the merits of our broader "war on drugs" (and this writer has had trouble over the years finding many), there is nothing currently preventing Congress from quickly moving to amend the Controlled Substances Act to grant states the right to establish a medical necessity exception for marijuana, and by doing so also introducing greater consistency between federal law standing on one side and both public opinion and law at the state level standing on the other.  

It is also worth recalling here that, although George W. Bush opposed the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes while serving as governor of Texas, he claimed that each state should still be allowed to fashion its own laws in the matter. By remaining true to that position, he can now give some genuine meaning to both the conservative concept of states' rights and to his favorite buzzwords of "compassionate conservatism." 

A broader reconsideration of the relationship between law, marijuana and our war on drugs is long overdue.  Warriors in the war on drugs claim that marijuana is a gateway to other, more dangerous substances, but that claim ignorantly mistakes a dependent variable for an independent one: Use of marijuana does, indeed, under present circumstances, frequently lead to experimentation with other drugs. But that is only because those present circumstances classify it as illegal, not because of any qualities inherent in the substance itself. 

A young person who has crossed the illegality threshold to experiment with any substance is obviously going to be less able to resist the temptation thereafter to try other illegal substances, but there is no logical reason, other than its illegality, that someone trying marijuana should be more likely to develop an itch to try heroin or crack than someone who just drank his first Budweiser or smoked his first Marlboro.  

All of which leads to the most obvious objection against the current criminalization of marijuana--that it is cruel and illogical to throw thousands of otherwise law-abiding people into jail every year for nothing more than possession of a substance which, considered as a whole, is probably much less harmful to both their own health and to that of the people around them than such legal substances as alcohol and tobacco.  

As for the specific question of a medical exception for marijuana use, what kind of society puts seriously sick people in jail merely for consuming a substance that makes them feel less sick? 

Bradley R. Gitz -- May 20, 2001
(Note: Author teaches politics at Lyon College at Batesville.)

MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom
Newshawk: Beth www.drugsense.org/dpfil
Pubdate: Sun, 20 May 2001
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR)
Copyright: 2001 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Contact: voices@ardemgaz.com
Website: http://www.ardemgaz.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/25

MEDICAL NECESSITY

It was with some dismay that I read of the Supreme Court's ruling that "medical necessity" does not constitute an exception to the federal laws  against the manufacture and distribution of marijuana. 

As a physician, I am aware of the great number of individuals with the AIDS, cancer multiple sclerosis and other chronic neuromuscular conditions whose suffering would be greatly relieved with its use.

Unfortunately, it is our non-medical representatives in the U.S. Congress who  made the erroneous judgment that marijuana has no medical value and is, therefore, a Class I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. 

Those of us who are trained in medicine and have some compassion for human suffering are trying to get the state of Arkansas to join nine other states in providing the option for health care providers to prescribe marijuana for their patients who truly need it. 

Our conservative state legislative house gave only cursory consideration to that option during the last session, apparently thinking there must be some valid reason for the federal ban on its use.  It is ridiculous that doctors can, and do, prescribe far more addictive and dangerous drugs for their patients, but cannot even recommend the use of a safe and effective at drug like marijuana without the threat of criminal prosecution.

I urge you to sign the petition, when you see it, to put medical marijuana on the ballot in 2002 and to write your representatives in the U.S. House and Senate urging them to revise the Controlled Substances Act to permit the appropriate use of a valuable therapeutic agent, marijuana. 

Dana B. Copp
Springdale, AR

CAPTURE THE MOMENT

Supreme Court Justice Thomas stated in the decision denying marijuana use, that "THE LAW", as it is now written, gives no exemption in the law to allow marijuana, PERIOD, and he gave the way to get medical marijuana approved is to get Congress to write an exemption to the law that will allow marijuana for medical approved situations...I truly believe that with the response to the Supreme Courts decision by the public gives an opportunity that needs to be captured in "the moment" before the outrages subsides.  

Sam Braswell
May 16, 2001

MAKE A STAND

In response to the Supreme Court's decision I felt compelled to write my  local paper. This morning they called and I am confident that my letter will appear in print soon. Following is a copy of the letter. Thank you for your hard work! Blessings... Annie Nichols

May  14, 2001

Dear Fellow Arkansans, 

Today the Supreme Court of our great republic decided that there is no "medical" use for marijuana.  This is a big slap in the face for thousands of Americans whose only relief is marijuana. Medical studies have concluded that people suffering from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, and chronic pain could benefit from the use of marijuana.

The active substance in marijuana is delta-9-THC, called cannabinols, it is  very similar to a naturally occurring chemical in the body called "anandamide." This substance helps in pain control, memory and cognition improvement, improved motor and balance functioning, nausea and vomiting control, and internal eye pressure relief. 

An 18-month study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine concluded that: "Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of  nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation." 

To deny someone the one medication that could help them seems un-American to  me. My life is governed by my disease - multiple sclerosis. Pain is a constant part of my life, along with tremors, migraines, spacicity,  and  balance problems. Many people have clipped articles about the use of  marijuana by MS sufferers. But, like thousands of other people suffering  needless pain, I will not know if it could help me. Because the highest  court in the land has assumed they know more than medical researchers,  thereby  keping marijuana illegal and out of my hands. 

If you would like to see this change for your fellow Arkansans please support the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act. You may read the entire Act at this web address: http://www.ardpark.org/legislation/amma.htm

Make a stand to aid  those in pain.  Write letters, send faxes and sign a petition if you have the opportunity.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Annie Nichols
1112 Leonard Drive
Mountain Home, Ar.  72653
870-425-0996

SOLICIT SUPPORT

Dear Representative, 

Recently two elderly friends of mine traveled extensively through China. One of my friends ran out of vitamin C. She found that it was very difficult to find vitamins in China-Tibet area. Once she located a vendor she discovered that she could only get vitamin C in a 50 mg dose. After a long inquiry she discovered that the government of China routinely restricts the use of vitamins. Further, she discovered the Chinese government has led the people to believe that taking more than 50 mg of Vitamin C could be lethal! Americans routinely take vitamin C in dosages of 500 mg and above.  

Today I'm writing to solicit your support of the Medical Marijuana Bill (HB 1303). As a youth, I was taught that marijuana was a "killer weed" and led on to all sorts of evil and aberrant behavior. As an adult I discovered this was not true. Last year I saw the passing of two close friends who at middle age were consumed by cancer and who sought to live using chemotherapy. To overcome the radical effects of chemotherapy, they both used marijuana for relief from pain and nausea. I was thankful they had it. I was not thankful that their friends and/or family members had to commit "criminal acts" in order to provide their loved ones with relief and rest by using a simple, natural, organic substance which by U. S. Congressional testimony "... has never been proven to be harmful."  

I strongly urge you to give medical doctors and us, their patients, another effective treatment option by supporting HB 1303.  

Respectfully yours,
(name withheld by request)

Dear Representative,

I am writing to ask that you support HB 1303.  I know that your committee will hear excellent favorable testimony regarding the many medical uses of marijuana.  I firmly believe that the time has come to restore this drug to the status that it enjoyed earlier in the century in our country, and the status that other progressive states have recognized in passing medical marijuana laws.  Thirteen other states are considering legislation like that being presented to your committee, and nine states already have enacted such legislation.  

I  am 63 years old and hold a Masters degree in social work.  I have been certified as an advanced practitioner in the field of social work.  I have had opportunities to witness what a positive difference the medical use of marijuana can make for persons with a variety of medical conditions.  In addition, I have seen this positive benefit in my own family. 

My sister died two years ago at the age of 71 from complications from diabetes.  She was a registered nurse who had lived and worked in another state, where she also died.  Prior to her death she was in extreme pain, and had great difficulty in eating due to constant nausea in addition to the pain.  The usually prescribed pain killers dulled her thinking, and at the same time her tolerance to those increased to the point that they did little good.  

At my recommendation and her consent someone managed to procure marijuana for her.  Although she was terminal, I cannot tell you how much the quality of her remaining days improved with the use of marijuana.  We were most thankful that someone took a risk in providing this comfort to her, and only wish that this could have been accomplished sooner.  The only regret was that anyone did have to "take a risk" to accomplish this act of humanity to alleviate my sister's suffering.  

I am confident that Arkansas will join the ranks of those other progressive states which have passed legislation such as this you are considering.  Thank you for hearing my story.  

Sincerely,
(name withheld by request)