A politically-charged issue

Many years ago, I had a very tragic experience. I lost a beloved child and I sought to escape from this world by using drugs as a means to my end. I thought marijuana would kill me so I tried it. But it affected me in a nice way. It enhanced all my senses. Everything seemed magnified by it. Music, food, touch, sleep – they were most enjoyable when you were high on marijuana. With the way I took it, I knew I would not die of it, so I graduated to a stronger drug which was cocaine. I thought it was lethal and I soon realized that if I wanted to end my life, it should be on cocaine overdose. I confessed to a priest what I was doing and, of course, he talked me out of it. He convinced me that I had a mission to fulfill in life. Inconsolable in my grief, I nevertheless listened to my kind father confessor and deliberated on doing good for my fellowmen. I thought of helping poor children hooked on one form of drug abuse or another. As part of my research, I went to a government-run drug rehab in Cavite and interviewed some poor children there. I learned that they used their hard-earned money to buy glue to sniff. They told me that getting high made them forget their hunger and misery. I was so touched that I vowed to put up a center for poor drug addicts. I definitely found a purpose in life and gave up the idea of knocking on St. Peter’s gates flying on cocaine.

I successfully raised funds and put up the Bahay Bagong Buhay Drug Rehabilitation Center with the help of Christian Life Fellowship Center. They managed it for me as I opted to live abroad during those years. Because of that center, I kept myself informed about the latest drugs affecting the youth.

After reading about the celebrated case of the Australian woman who smuggled in four kilos of marijuana into Indonesia, my interest in marijuana was revived. I knew it was not all that bad. In my past research, I vaguely remembered that it was used for medicinal purposes.

To learn the truth about marijuana, I read the book Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence by John P. Morgan, professor of pharmacology, New York Medical School. He says that marijuana is a great herb that has been proven effective and essentially risk-free for treatment of a number of chronic ailments including serious pain caused by chemotherapy, muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis sufferers, and eye pressure caused by glaucoma. Unfortunately for the many people in need, the idea of legalizing marijuana remains a politically-charged issue.

It is also beneficial for:

1) Reducing nausea associated with chemotherapy.

2) Stimulating the appetites of people with involuntary weight loss or wasting associated with cancer and AIDS.

3) Helping seriously ill or dying people cope with chronic pain.

4) Diminishing muscle spasms in people with MS and cerebral palsy.

5) Reducing eye pressure in those with glaucoma.

Although there is no such thing as a drug entirely without adverse consequences, marijuana actually has very few beyond moderate, temporary impairment, says Dr. Morgan. This is a herb with a wide margin of safety, no possibility of overdose, and a number of extremely beneficial medical uses.

Interestingly, scientists are open to the medical use of marijuana. But the US Justice Department continues to consider marijuana as a dangerous, controlled substance and remains steadfast in its refusal to classify it. The government routinely rejects the applications of university researchers who apply to study the herb as a medicine.

The irony, of course, is that many FDA-approved drugs have greater toxicity and adverse effects than marijuana. Doctors can legally prescribe more addictive drugs, but the fact is, marijuana remains illegal. You wonder what is going on there.

Dr. Morgan wants to correct some myths concerning the herb such as it causes brain impairment. He states that while marijuana produces immediate and temporary changes in thoughts, perception, information processing, and short-term memory, these only last for the duration of the drug’s influence. None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana even from long-term, high-dose use.

Pharmaceuticals are now looking into putting marijuana extract in capsule or tablet form. But Dr. Morgan points out that the ingested capsule is nowhere near as effective as smoked marijuana. However, in England, a tablet that’s derived from marijuana and dissolves under the tongue is available. Although not perfect, Dr. Morgan says this is better than standard capsules that must pass through the gut and liver. The tablet is, however, not available in the US. Perhaps one day, our BFAD would have the logic to import these tablets and sell them through reputable doctors.

In a recent CNN poll, more than 80 percent of respondents favored the legalization of marijuana for medical use. Most states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington – have all passed medical marijuana laws, although in each case, the federal government strongly opposed them.

In the Philippines and other developing nations, for example, it would be difficult to legalize marijuana for medical use. Noting the propensity of third world countries like ours to abuse such a law and turn it into a multibillion-peso drug trade, it would be best for our country not to legalize it.