Letters for June 16, 2008

June 16, 2008 07:16 am

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Marijuana works as a medicine

Kudos for your editorial support in favor of legally protecting patients who use cannabis therapy under the guidance of their physician ("Medical marijuana makes sense," June 7).

While authoring the recent publication, "Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review of the Scientific Literature" (NORML Foundation 2008), I reviewed more than 150 clinical and preclinical studies assessing the therapeutic value of cannabis and its active compounds to treat symptoms _ and in some cases moderate disease progression _ in a variety of illness, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease. Nearly all of the studies cited in my work were published within the past eight years.

Unlike many politicians and law enforcement officials, I frequently interact with medical marijuana patients. Many of them write to me daily, as do their physicians. Often they tell me stories like this: "I was recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor inside the left temporal lobe of my brain. I had surgery, and I've just started chemotherapy and radiation. The surgeon actually apologized for the fact that he could not write me a prescription for marijuana, but he told me it was safe to smoke. ... Marijuana is saving my life right now; it has helped to kill my seizures, nausea, dizziness, and calm my headaches. If marijuana can help me with all my other problems in addition to possibly reducing the size of my tumor and extending my life, then why on earth would our government not allow me to have it?"

Why indeed?

Paul Armentano

Washington, D.C.

Armentano is deputy director of NORML and the NORML Foundation.

Real solutions to oil crisis

This is in response to Tom Sears' column of June 10:

Mr. Tom Sears, get over the vicious labeling of everyone who doesn't believe in your vacuous rhetoric. You want rational working solutions to our dependence on oil, coal and natural gas.

OK, first, stop applauding the obscene profits the oil companies are raking in as perfectly normal and right. Your so-called "legitimate market forces" are running amok and driving prices to unbelievable levels. Our fault? How do you "small government" capitalists reconcile the "necessary government tax credits"? Precious little of that money is going into alternative energy research. Back to rational and working solutions.

1. Set higher MPG standards for all vehicles (we know it can be done, and quickly).

2. Take those billions in tax credits, add it to the billions in "incentives" given to huge wind, solar and gas conglomerates and establish programs to provide incentives to individual homeowners, small businesses and all new construction to provide their own power using wind, solar and geothermal systems. Any extra energy produced goes right into the national grid system.

3. Use these "incentive" dollars to help bring small businesses back into the dying towns in our area. With a grant from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, we installed a 3K Photovoltaic system on our house. In the first week of operation we produced 110 kilowatts, used 31 kilowatts of NYSEG power (at night) and saved the atmosphere from 174 pounds of carbon dioxide.

We "eco-nuts" know you for just another junkyard dog yapping out the same rhetoric, another number-cruncher with no real knowledge of finances, just rhetoric. (My apologies to all other number-crunchers who have retained their sanity).

Richard Stinson

South Kortright

Liberalism now about control

June Edwards (Feb. 19) claims she is a political and religious liberal and not secular.

The original liberals began with good intentions. They were committed to free speech, press, religion and elections. As liberalism became more powerful, it became corrupt.

Liberal "freedom" is not "control" and a path to totalitarianism. It's almost indistinguishable from secularism.

Modern liberalism gave us politically correct restrictions on free speech. They use the idea of Christian compassion free from the moral law to support and justify any group that claims to be oppressed and demands justice.

Some Protestant churches have become secularized. Some Catholic bishops are falsely claiming the Vatican II Council ratified theological liberalism. Pope Pius X condemned theological liberalism in 1907.

Increasing evidence shows widespread discrimination and persecution of eminently qualified scientists who criticize evolution theory. A U.S. House Subcommittee Report found: "intolerance and politicalization of science at the Smithsonian Institute." (Dec. 11, 2006).

Liberals use "church-state separation" to promote religious intolerance, especially against traditional Christians.

A court-documented study by Liberty Legal Institute showed religious persecution is real and surprisingly frequent in the U.S., especially by some public school teachers.

One example: A small boy, quietly praying over his food in the cafeteria, was lifted out of seat, publicly reprimanded, taken to the principal and ordered to cease praying in school.

This is psychological assault and politically correct child abuse.

The First Amendment makes the freedom to bring moral and religious views into the public arena a protected constitutional civil right.

Rita Armstrong

Oneonta