Sender: To: X-Original-Message-ID: <006201bf484a$928dce90$9acf69cf@pacbell.net> From: "Peter McWilliams" Subject: My Washington Post march Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 20:52:50 -0800 X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 Here's my letter to the Washington Post. Get in on the fun! Go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm and write your letter. Enjoy, Peter ----------------------- TO: Editors, Washington Post Dear Editors: In your article "Gore Supports 'Flexibility' on Medical Marijuana," you reported: "Earlier this year, a panel of prominent scientists convened by the federal government concluded that some of the substances in marijuana may be useful in treating such conditions as pain or nausea, but that smoked marijuana has little future as a medicine. Administration officials have cited that conclusion in urging a go-slow approach on medical marijuana." In fact, the Institute of Medicine also found, and I quote: "[I]t it will likely be many years before a safe and effective cannabinoid delivery system, such as an inhaler, is available for patients....Until a nonsmoked rapid-onset cannabinoid drug delivery system becomes available, we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting. One possible approach is to treat patients as n-of-1 clinical trials (single-patient trials), in which patients are fully informed of their status as experimental subjects using a harmful drug delivery system and in which their condition is closely monitored and documented under medical supervision, thereby increasing the knowledge base of the risks and benefits of marijuana use under such conditions.... "Recommendation 6: Short-term use of smoked marijuana (less than six months) for patients with debilitating symptoms (such as intractable pain or vomiting) must meet the following conditions: failure of all approved medications to provide relief has been documented, the symptoms can reasonably be expected to be relieved by rapid-onset cannabinoid drugs, such treatment is administered under medical supervision in a manner that allows for assessment of treatment effectiveness, and involves an oversight strategy comparable to an institutional review board process that could provide guidance within 24 hours of a submission by a physician to provide marijuana to a patient for a specified use." In other words, the IOM recommended that until a smokeless delivery system for cannabinoids is available, which may not be for many years, smoked marijuana should be made available to qualifying patients within 24 hours. It is the administration's responsibility to implement the IOM findings, as Drug Czar McCaffrey repeatedly promised it would do, not to misrepresent them. Sincerely, Peter McWilliams 8165 Mannix Drive Los Angeles, California 90046 323-650-8488 peter@mcwilliams.com