— __ SEAN GREEN _ I
111 cruelly denied marijuana j
hiriccn people in the United
Slates arc allowed, by law, to
smoke mari juana. Because of
some bureaucratic oversight, 1 am not
one of them.
Anyone else who smokes mari
juana is considered to be a common
criminal, a rogue, a blight on the face
of American society. That includes
some sufferers of cancer, AIDS and
glaucoma, who use the drug as medi
cine.
On March 10, the Public Health
Service cutoff the use of marijuana in
the treatment of these illnesses for all
but the 13 patients who already arc
using the drug legally, the San Fran
cisco Chronicle reported.
The government said it would slop
processing applications for legal
marijuana use until it finished re
viewing reports of the health benefits
and dangers of pot, including poten
tial lung problems in AIDS patients
and others with damaged immune
systems, the Chronicle reported.
Once again, the government has
proven how far it will go to interfere
in the lives ol its citizens, although I
don't remember anyone asking the
government for more proof.
The Chronicle reported that in I9K8,
while undergoing chemotherapy for
cancer of the colon, Jo Daly, a former
San Francisco police commissioner,
discovered that a few puffs of a mari
juana cigarette stopped the treatment's
“hideous nausea and pain.”
“I can't explain to anyone how
violently ill you can become alter
chemotherapy/’ Daly said. “You lose
control. It’s like a nuclear implosion
inside your body. The word nausea
doesn’t even come close.”
She said that only a few puffs on a
joint made the pain and nausea of
chemotherapy almost tolerable. That
is, until the local narcotics division
breaks down your door and you wind
up in prisyn married to the guy with
• the most cigarettes.
Daly said she linked up with a
small network of cancer patients that
was able to supply her with the mari
juana she needed before her cancer
went into remission.
Among those who said they were
incensed by the ruling was Dennis
Peron, a member of the board of di
rectors of the National Organization
for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
Once again. the
government has
proven how far it
will go to interfere
in the lives of its
citizens, although!
don 7 remember
anyone asking the
government for
more proof
(NORML).
“This is the meanest and rudest
thing the government has ever done,"
Pcron said.
Not quite. Lowering the speed limit
to 55 was the meanest, rudest thing
the government has ever done.
But this ruling was still rude.
Glaucoma patients also are upset
by the ruling because mari juana helps
them keep their eyesight.
“This is outrageous,” said Robert
Randall, 44, the first person in the
country to participate in the govern
ment program. “I will continue to sec
while other glaucoma patients go
blind.”
Without marijuana, he said, “I
would be walking around with a cane
and a dog. Since I started smoking
pot, my vision has not gotten any
worse and I don’t get the tricolorcd
halos or the blurriness.”
Randall said the only reason he
wasn’t blind was because he had
smoked 10 cigar-sized joints each
day for 18 years.
Some medical evidence indicates
that Randall might have other prob
lems with his lungs or his brain if he
continues to smoke pot. But when I
faced with the options of being blind I
or maybe having a few medical prob- I
lems down the road, most people would I
probably use marijuana.
Some would use it more willingly I
than others, but that’s a matter of I
personal taste.
The Public Health. Service, the I
government body behind this non- I
sense, is telling AIDS patients they |
can’t smoke until it is determined |
what effects pot has on their damaged
immune systems, specifically their
lungs.
But it seems AIDS paiicnis might
be willing to risk the chance of long
term side effects in order to keep an
occasional meal down.
AIDS and cancer patients arc not
the same as 14-ycar-old future Olym
pic stars who arc constantly told to
“just say no.” AIDS and cancer pa
tients are victims of deadly diseases
who might like to spend whatever
time they have left with some meas
ure of dignity and in as little pain as
possible.
But the government simply can’t
allow it. Nccmg cancer patients smoke
pot would send a message to all the
14-ycar-old future Olympic stars that
smoking pot is good.
In its infinite wisdom, the govern
ment is advocating the use of an alter
native to pot. It’s a pill called Mari
nol,containing tetrahydrocannabinol
or THC, marijuana’s active ingredi
ent.
Because this pill would eliminate
the dirty deed of lighting up a joint,
the government is all for it. And like
most things the government whole
heartedly supports, it doesn’t work.
The cancer and AIDS patients who
tried swallowing this pill to cure their
nausea couldn’t keep it down, so it
seems the battle will continue.
Maybe groups such as NOR ML
dream of a day when everyone will be
able to gel a prescription for mari
juana or when the drug is completely
legalized.
B ul w h i 1c the rest of us argue about
the issue, the people marijuana can
really help should be able to gel it
without facing the prospect of arrest.
Green is a senior news-editorial major
and a Daily Nebraskan senior reporter and
columnist.
Right, wrong of homosexuality not absolute
Sometimes, I wonder what good it
is to respond to letters from individu
als such as Rick Mitchell (“God con
demns homosexuality," DN, March
11). His letter is clear evidence that
he rcads/listcns/lcams only to sup
port beliefs that he already has. I
believe that each of us is guilty of this
to some extreme, yet there arc thosg
who also allow an openness to new
and various experiences to reshape
and even change some of their views.
I grew- up in a small town and
attended Catholic schools until my
senior year. I’ve attended services in
the Lutheran, Methodist and other
denominations’ churches and I’ve
found that the beliefs of the Chris
tians are as varied as the people who
attend these services. I would be pre
sumptuous if 1 spoke for all Chris
tians, and it ania/cd me to sec Mr.
Mitchell speak not only for all Chris
tians but for God, too. He staled, “..
. Christians do not condemn homo
sexuals, God does."
Has Mr. Mitchell and God often
spoke about this together? Or is his
source one of the various interpreta
tions of the Bible that even scholars
versed in the original languages still
argue over. And whether directed by
God or not, the various books of the
Bible were written by human beings,
who not only were influenced by the
culture and limes they lived in, but
who also were susceptible to an ail
ment known to all mankind ... the
ability to err.
I find it hard to believe that a God
such as I believe in would condemn
any individual who does not believe
in Jesus even if that individual has
been the most loving of men or women
throughout his/her life. I can’t per
ceive of a God who would condemn
anyone for loving another, whether
the person be of the opposite or the
same sex. To me, sex is a beautiful
means of expressing love, whether
the lovers be heterosexuals or homo
sexuals and lesbians. The only lime
that I see any ugliness within the
sexual act is when it is used in anger,
abuse, manipulation or without feel
ings for the person you arc with.
Mr. Mitchell also expressed dis
gust with ‘... the lies and deception
that the homosexual community has
bought into.” As though any one per
son would want to live a life of lies
and deception! Not long ago, I ob
served and supported two friends (one
male, one female) who tried to break
out of the dcccpiion/l ics 11 fcsly Ic they
maintained by admitting their sexual
preferences to the captain of a mili
tary base. Both were involved in jobs
that necessitated high-level clearances,
and out of respect to those positions,
they came forward in order to prevent
any chance of blackmail.
Both had been awarded numerous
times for their outstanding job per
formances. Both were highly respected.
Within hours of their announcement.
the two were demoted 10 januoriai
duties. They never again were able to
resume their duties despite their ex
cel lent evaluations and the support of
several character witnesses. Eighteen
months of study and two years of
excelling at their jobs, and the result
of their honesty was a demotion to
custodial duties for four months and
then a discharge from the military.
I have a brother who worked in an
adolescent shelter in L.A. for over a
year. He can quote you the statistics,
I can’t, but he commented often on
the fact that the kids who arc out on
the streets arc mostly those running
away from abusive homes and teens
who were thrown out of their homes
because they admitted that they were
gay/lcsbian. And Mr. Mitchell won
ders why the deceptions ... why the
lies.
Rick Mitchell seems confident of
what is right and I wish him well in
his unquestioning rightness. But each
day I mccta new challenge that makes
me question what I consider and have
been taught to consider as right. I can
find no absolutes. Instead, I rely on
my instincts and allow my experi
ences to keep myself aware and ever
changing. The only right that I know
as a Christian is to keep from causing
unnecessary harm or pain to another.
B.K. Cheshier
graduate
Russian and psychology
--LETTER POLICY
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