Medical Use of Marijuana Should Be Legalized

By Montel Williams

Illinois — You probably know me as a talk show host and, perhaps, as
someone who for several years has spoken out about my use of medical
marijuana for the pain caused by multiple sclerosis. That surprised a few
people, but recent research has proved that I was right: right about
marijuana’s medical benefits and right about how urgent it is for states to
change their laws so that sick people aren’t treated as criminals. The
Illinois General Assembly is considering such a change right now.

If you see me on television [10 a.m. weekdays on Channel 4 in St. Louis], I
look healthy. What you don’t see is the mind-numbing pain searing through my
legs like hot pokers.

My doctors wrote me prescriptions for some of the strongest painkillers
available. I took Percocet, Vicodin and Oxycontin on a regular basis,
knowingly risking overdose just trying to make the pain bearable. But these
powerful, expensive drugs brought me no relief. I couldn’t sleep, I was
agitated, my legs kicked involuntarily in bed and the pain was so bad I
found myself crying in the middle of the night.

All these heavy-duty narcotics made me nearly incoherent. I couldn’t take
them when I had to work, because they turned me into a zombie. Worse, these
drugs are highly addictive, and one thing I knew was that I didn’t want to
become a junkie.Advertisement

When someone suggested I try marijuana, I was skeptical. But I also was
desperate. To my amazement, it worked after the legal drugs had failed.
Three puffs and within minutes the excruciating pain in my legs subsided. I
had my first restful sleep in months.

I am not alone. A new study from the University of California, published in
February in the highly regarded medical journal Neurology, leaves no doubt
about that.

You see, people with MS suffer from a particular type of pain called
neuropathic pain: pain caused by damage to the nerves. It’s common in MS but
also in many other illnesses, including diabetes and HIV/AIDS. It’s
typically a burning or stabbing sensation, and conventional pain drugs don’t
help much, whatever the specific illness.

The new study, conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams, looked at neuropathic pain in
HIV/AIDS patients. About one-third of people with HIV eventually suffer this
kind of pain, and there are no FDA-approved treatments. For some it gets so
bad that they can’t walk.

This was what is known as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
trial, the “gold standard” of medical research. And marijuana worked. The
very first marijuana cigarette reduced the pain by an average of 72 percent,
without serious side effects.

What makes this even more impressive is that U.S. researchers studying
marijuana are required to use marijuana supplied by the federal government,
marijuana that is famous for its poor quality and weakness. So there is
every reason to believe that studies such as this one underestimate the
potential relief that high-quality marijuana could provide.

In my case, medical marijuana has allowed me to live a productive, fruitful
life despite having multiple sclerosis. Many thousands of others all over
this country — less well-known than me but whose stories are just as real —
have experienced the same thing.

Here’s what’s shocking: The U.S. government knows marijuana works as a
medicine. Our government actually provides medical marijuana each month to
five patients in a program that started about 25 years ago but was closed to
new patients in 1992. One of the patients in that program, Florida
stockbroker Irvin Rosenfeld, was a guest on my show two years ago. If
federal officials come to town to tell you there’s no evidence marijuana is
a safe, effective medicine, know this: They’re lying, and they know it.

Still, 39 states subject patients with illnesses like MS, cancer or HIV/AIDS
to arrest and jail for using medical marijuana, even if their doctor has
recommended it. It’s long past time for that to change.

Illinois state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, has introduced a bill — SB
650 — to protect patients like me from arrest and jail for using medical
marijuana when it’s recommended by a physician. Similar laws are working
well in 11 states right now.

The General Assembly should pass the medical marijuana bill without delay.
Sick people shouldn’t be treated as criminals.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)