Medicinal claims all smoke.

Byline: William Breault

COLUMN: As I see it

This November, Massachusetts voters will decide whether to formally approve a medical marijuana initiative - "An act for the humanitarian medical use of marijuana." This means that supporters of the question must now collect 11,485 signatures by June 19 for the question to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.

You would be considering important legislation that would establish a "medical" marijuana program in Massachusetts. There have been many half-truths and misperceptions swirling around this controversial issue. It is important to set the record straight.

We oppose the legalization of medical marijuana in our commonwealth for several important and substantive reasons. Medical marijuana advocates claim that nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety can be alleviated by smoking marijuana. They claim that marijuana is useful for treating cancer, epilepsy, anorexia and wasting syndromes commonly associated with HIV/AIDS. They also claim it helps with multiple sclerosis and spinal-cord injuries, muscle spasms, bladder dysfunction, spasticity and a variety of other illnesses.

Who really uses medical marijuana?

Advocates of the legislation claim that medical marijuana helps seriously ill people with cancer or AIDS or glaucoma. They paint a picture of elderly ill people who need it for pain relief. However, according to the San Diego County district attorney, medical marijuana patient records from California show that 62 percent were between 17 and 35 years of age; and 71 percent were between ages 17 and 40. Only 2.05 percent of customers obtained physician recommendations for AIDS, glaucoma or cancer. An extremely high number of people were using medical marijuana for other purposes.

Many prominent national health organizations do not support crude smoked marijuana for medical use. Medical crude marijuana is rejected by the American Medical Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Glaucoma Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Cancer Society, the National Eye Institute, the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the FDA.

All medications, particularly those containing controlled substances, should become available only after having satisfied the rigorous criteria of the Federal Food and Drug Administration approval process. That process has been carefully constructed over the past century to protect patient health and safety. Patients and...