Madison NORML

I guess opponents in the legislature did not do that because if they had, they would by now have to admit it works. Having not done so, they can still trot out that tired excuse in 2008 so more patients die without legal access to this option. Of course, there was sufficient evidence long before 2002. Still, Lee Sherman Dreyfus showed he could learn and evolved his position accordingly. Too bad his advice was not taken.

Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jan 2002
Source: Waukesha Freeman (WI)
Copyright: 2002 The Waukesha Freeman
Contact: (262) 542-8259
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/770
Author: Lee Sherman Dreyfus
Note: Lee Sherman Dreyfus is a former Wisconsin governor who lives in
Waukesha. His column runs Thursdays in the Freeman.

WISCONSIN SHOULD TAKE LEAD IN MARIJUANA RESEARCH

With my initials, L.S.D., I have been the butt of jokes and jibes for most of my adult life. In fairness to my mother, who gave me these infamous initials, I must add that she gave birth to me 11 years before the hallucinogenic drug was invented. LSD, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy or marijuana simply were not used or available in my pre-World War II high school.

However, 1942 and 2002 are very different years when it comes to sex, drugs and all sorts of risky behaviors. The most common illicit drug in use now is marijuana, or "pot." The Latin name for the plant is cannabis. Today it is federally illegal to grow, sell or smoke marijuana. Regulation of this drug is established by the Food and Drug Administration and enforcement is carried out by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Two Democratic representatives and one Republican have introduced a bill to legalize some use of pot. This bill, like its predecessors, is not a blanket legalization of cannabis, but authorizes physicians to prescribe its use to treat disease or relieve pain and suffering for seriously or terminally ill patients.

The applicable law currently on the books here in Wisconsin was actually signed by me in 1982. My memory is hazy, but I remember the intent was to give physicians some leeway in treating their patients and to promote further research. A few years later, California passed Proposition 215, which allowed people to grow their own pot if they needed it medically. Leave it to California!

Medical marijuana "clubs" soon came into being and were clearly fronts for people who wished to use pot as a recreational drug. This brought the Supreme Court into the act, and in 1994, the court ruled that marijuana was a schedule I drug, which is defined legally as highly addictive and of no medical usefulness. That last phrase is one where, in my opinion, the learned justices over-reached. I don't think we know that!

The DEA says that is true, but an enforcement agency should not be our guide relative to medical possibilities. Here in Wisconsin we have a world-class research university, one that has conducted clinical studies in biochemistry for more than a century. The Wisconsin Idea has always urged our Legislature to seek help in its decision-making from the other end of State Street.

Here's an opportunity for Wisconsin to again make a great contribution to the nation. Our Legislature should take the lead to fund research on the medical use of marijuana, and get FDA and DEA regulations set aside so the university can carry out a controlled, legitimate and credible clinical study in this matter. Our state's medical association would support that as well as our state's nursing association. They are already on record.

It isn't simply a question of whether or not there are medical benefits. Such a study could also tell us if the risks outweigh the benefits. The first rule of medicine is "Primum non nocere," which translates to "First, do no harm." If we find this substance has substantial medical benefits, the next step would be for pharmaceutical companies to produce it in a pill or liquid form so as to control dosage and purity.

The Legislature has an opportunity here to help our great university research faculty to provide this nation with definitive information about a substance used at least once by 87 million Americans. But please don't tell the DEA that a former governor with the initials L.S.D. is supporting this.

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n073.a03.html