A step toward marijuana legalization?
The article in the Observer-Reporter’s Nov. 11 edition, “Local doctors approved to prescribe marijuana,” lists “17 serious medical conditions for which it may be prescribed.” I suspect that this list was enacted into law by our Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf. How much input from medical experts was obtained? I wonder.
I believe that the two most common maladies for which cannabis and its derivatives are prescribed are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic musculoskeletal pain, yet there is scant research which backs up the efficacy for aiding these disorders. Interestingly, however, there is some evidence that these materials may be helpful in alleviating chronic neuropathic pain.
In recent months, former Pittsburgh Steeler Jack Ham has been in Greene County touting the positive of effects of marijuana. What’s in it for him? And other than the satisfaction of helping others, what’s in it for the physicians who are authorized to prescribe it?
Some say that promoting medical marijuana is a step toward legalization. Colorado, Oregon, and other states have followed this path. If cannabis is to be legalized for recreational use, then state legislators should just do it.
Douglas T. Corwin Jr.
East Washington