Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 11:50:22 -0600
To: [iowanor m l] at [commonlink.com]
From: "Carl E. Olsen" <[c--l] at [mail.commonlink.com]>
Subject: DM Register endorses MEDMJ - November 11, 1996

http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/MEDICAL/IOWA/dmreg.html

The Des Moines Register
Post Office Box 957, Des Moines, Iowa 50304
Phone: 515-284-8000 / Fax: 515-286-2504
E-mail: [l--t--s] at [dmreg.com]

Page 8A, The Des Moines Register, Monday, November 11, 1996

                          The Register's Editorials

                         Enlightened marijuana votes

                       California, Arizona show sense
                        the federal goverment lacks.

     Should cancer victims be denied treatment with a drug that is easily
purchased on the street?
     Voters in Arizona and California think the drug -- marijuana -- should
be available by prescription. Arizona would add heroin to the prescription
list. But U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno warns that use of such drugs
still violates federal law, and that the law will still be enforced.
     The federal law is indefensible.
     Pharmacies are full of drugs from the "controlled substances" list that
can cause addiction and, if misused, threaten the health of users. But they
are essential in treating intractable pain. Outlawing use of certain drugs
for any purpose simply because they are favorites on the illegal market
means we are letting street criminals dictate our drug policy, while forcing
some who suffer desperate illnesses to pay the price.
     Arizona and California have shown an enlightenment that the rest of the
nation should emulate.
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