NORML Replies to Haze of Misinformation About Medical Marijuan by ONDCP's Ms. Barthwell- by Paul Armentano: Drugwar.com

NORML Replies to "A Haze of Misinformation" by ONDCP's Andrea Barthwell

Subject: Please consider the following Letter to the Editor for
publication

July 21, 2003

To the editor,

It's ironic that Andrea Barthwell, deputy director for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, willfully misconstrues the facts
regarding the medicinal use of marijuana ("A Haze of Misinformation
Clouds Issue of Medical Marijuana," July 21, 2003) mere weeks after Delegates of the American Nurses Association (ANA) convened in Washington, DC to resolve to "support the right of patients to have safe access to therapeutic marijuana." Who do you believe? A paid spokeswoman for the Drug Czar's office, or the RNs who have dedicated their lives to attend the needs of the sick and dying?

The ANA's support for the use of marijuana as a medicine is not based on
"misinformation," but rather on scores of scientific studies and patient testimonies demonstrating the therapeutic value of cannabis. That is why dozens of prominent national and international health organizations,
including the American Public Health Association, the AIDS Action Council, the United Kingdom's Multiple Sclerosis Society, and The New England Journal of Medicine, support the immediate legalization of medical marijuana under a physician's supervision.

However, if Ms. Barthwell and the Bush administration have their way, patients who find therapeutic relief from marijuana will not only be
denied legal access to the one medicine that alleviates their suffering,
but they will also face arrest and imprisonment. In addition, the Bush
administration is now appealing to the Supreme Court to allow the Justice Department to punish doctors who so much as speak to their patients about the medical use of marijuana - a position so extreme that it runs contrary to both the American Medical Association and the
American Society of Addiction Medicine, the latter of which Ms. Barthwell formerly served as president.

It is shameful that Ms. Barthwell, a physician, is now willing to place politics before the needs of patients she once took an oath to protect.

Sincerely,

Paul Armentano
Senior Policy Analyst
NORML/
NORML Foundation
Washington, DC
20006-2832
202.483.5500