LTE by Jim Maas: Blocking medical marijuana harms patients

EDITOR: A recent column by Mark Treinen on cancer research made me wonder what else we should know about the research. There are 200 cancer-related studies going on at the Marshfield Clinic but I doubt any on the applications of cannabinoids, known as medical marijuana.

Humans have cultivated and consumed the flowers of the female cannabis plant for thousands of years. The U.S. government now outlaws recreational, industrial and therapeutic uses. People are getting tired of it, and some are dying from it.

Science cannot be repressed forever. Emerging clinical applications for cannabinoids include multiple sclerosis, ALS, HIV, gastrointestinal disorders, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Many readers may be aware that cannabis can be ingested to ease the symptoms of chemotherapy treatments for cancer.

Treinen reported that 6,800 more patients can expect to live at least five years after diagnosis for lung cancer than was likely in 1985. How different might that outcome have been if the UW could have been allowed to conduct this research? We will never know.

Jim Maas, Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, Rothschild

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