Tell Your Congressman to Co-Sponsor and Support the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act

OK, I will:

"I am an RN at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT and frequently give legally-prescribed Dronabinol (THC) to patients who suffer loss of appetite. In my opinion Dronabinol works, and with none of the over-played "expected" goofy side effects. I have never had a patient so much as blink an eye when told what Dronabinol is. They know what it is, they know it works, they know it can't hurt as much as the alternative: hormones like Oxandrin (testosterone, with high potential for abuse and higher chance of liver damage) and Magestrol (progesterone, dangerous in patients with histories of diabetes or blood clots and potentially cancer-forming).

I am from Oregon, where Marijuana "joints" (they come in prescription bottles with prescription labels on them) are legally prescribed for terminal AIDS and cancer patients. I do not believe that this law has done anything but comfort people who feel helpless in the face of tremendous pain. I have experience working in Portland, Oregon-area detox and rehab centers and have only encountered ONE patient in rehab for marijuana addiction. It is not the epidemic it is thought to be. Please turn your attention to the new crack cocaine: METHAMPHETAMINES. Also, another hint: heroin has not gone away post-war on Taliban. Finally: alcohol. Alcohol is still legal to citizens of all ages (don't fool yourselves), and drinkers/alcoholics will always comprise the largest group of addicts, destructive and dangerous. Just ask MADD! And my aunt!

Where is the logic in the war on THC?

I personally do not believe Marijuana to be physically addictive as are many other elicit drugs, nor as destructive or dangerous. It is perhaps psychologically addictive; however, in today's hectic, ugly times, perhaps people need this *natural* god-given escape. Give people the rights to smoke what grows in their own backyards. Give me the right to comfort my patients with drugs that are available and that work - naturally."