Dying can be charged for using marijuana

Court: Dying can be charged for using marijuana

POSTED: 2:00 p.m. EDT, March 14, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A California woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive is not immune from federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.


The case was brought by Angel Raich, an Oakland mother of two who suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other ailments. On her doctor's advice, she eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster a nonexistent appetite as conventional drugs did not work.

The Supreme Court ruled against Raich two years ago, saying that medical marijuana users and their suppliers could be prosecuted for breaching federal drug laws even if they lived in a state such as California where medical pot is legal.

Because of that ruling, the issue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was narrowed to the so-called right to life theory: that marijuana should be allowed if it is the only viable option to keep a patient alive.

Raich, 41, began sobbing when she was told of the decision and said she would continue using the drug.

"I'm sure not going to let them kill me," she said. "Oh my God."

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/03/14/med.marijuana.ap/index.html

 

The sick and dying would be better off suffering in horrible pain right up to their last breath. I guess if a drug doesn't have side effects like sudden death or bone degeneration the way some of the more "popular" prescribed pharms do then it must be bad for you.

The DEA says marijuana has no medical value only Marinol does because its pure and the herb is a mixture of substances. I guess the DEA never heard that CBD softens some of the effects of THC and provides useful benefits of its own as well. But then Big Daddy Gov't knows better.

What about the right to heal oneself? If I drink a cup of ginger tea for indigestion am I practicing medicine without a license? Am I self-prescribing a crude and possibly dangerous chemical cocktail to myself? That's the take home message I get from the DEA and the Supreme Court.

 

the US is so dumb

 

"marijuana should be allowed if it is the only viable option to keep a patient alive"

But not for glaucoma, not for hypertension, not for back pain, not for cholesterol reduction.

 

does it reduce choleterol?

 

Small amounts do according to some studies. Large amounts are said to not reduce cholesterol.

 

From the BBC website there is an article about how low doses of THC (not enough to get you high) can reduce the risk of hardening of the arteries. Smoking pot won't benefit your cholesterol levels though. The crud is smoke is actually damamging to the arteries and can lead to hardening. So I guess sprinkle a little on your branflakes for breakfast.

On another site (Science Daily) there is an article on how cannabinoids are known to be hypotensive (lower blood pressure) and a synthetic version of one called cannabigerol can lower blood pressure without psychotropic effects. That's probably a good thing for elderly people.

I just read an article on counterpunch's site about how marijuana has been shown scientifically to reduce pain. The DEA is of course saying 'not true'.

 

dude, why is EVERYTHING bullshit? they just lie and lie and nothing happens

 

I don't know. Its been going on like this since I was kid (and that was quite a few years ago) and even before that. I guess some people are just afraid of anything that might shake up their (mis)conceptions of what the world is like.