Pubdate: Tue, 03 Jan 2012 Source: Bay City Times, The (MI) Copyright: 2012 The Bay City Times Contact: http://www.mlive.com/mailforms/bctimes/letters/index.ssf/ Website: http://www.mlive.com/bay-city/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1453 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n732/a05.html Author: Stan White CANNABIS PROHIBITION CREATED MEDICAL MARIJUANA MESS It's commendable that citizens (Medical marijuana In Michigan is an utter mess, Dec. 23) voted for people with serious health issues to use the plant cannabis (marijuana) medicinally. The "mess" isn't due to sick or in-pain citizens wishing to use the God-given plant; it's due to cannabis prohibition and the governments which perpetuate one of America's worst policy failures in history. Many citizens with "chronic pain" (for example) are able to choose using or already have been using significantly more dangerous and extremely addictive narcotics with many side effects (including possible death) that leave them feeling like zombies and unable to function or work. Cannabis has historically also been used for muscle spasms, nausea and many other ailments with far less side effects than pharmaceutical drugs. Citizens deserve the option to use the natural and safer 100 percent pure plant for those medical conditions. And does Goldie Wood think Vicodin, Percocet, Oxycontin and other narcotics are better in the hands of those "children?" Stan White, Dillon, Colo. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart