Let a Thousand Marijuana Farms Bloom—or At Least Two

New York Times columnist John Tierney takes up the cause of pot privatization, suggesting that the federal government should stop blocking the research it says is necessary to make marijuana available as a medicine.

Comments

[Adam]

John Tierney's on a roll lately. Meth saneness, reasonable reefer.

Even without all of the federal rigamarole - and I'm rooting for Dr. Craker and MAPS and all others involved - there are "pharamceutical grade" cannabis producers selling marijuana in pharmacies in the Netherlands. It would make perfect sense to just relax the rules enough to order some of that sticky-icky-icky for the appropriate research studies.

Nevermind the thousands of marijuana farms around the country, or the brilliant growers who provide California's dispensaries with thousands and thousands of pounds of high potency/near-zero-risk marijuana every year.

[B.D.]

Good column. Especially important, from my point of view, are the comments about the problem with marinol. It's rarely mentioned when this issue is discussed how Marinol works for patients who can keep it down. Many AIDS patients cannot do that. I knew an AIDS patient in the late 80s who complained to me that his doctor prescribed Marinol and then prescribed another drug to control nausea so that he could keep the Marinol down, but that the second drug only worked some of the time. Now, keep in mind, this patient was allowed to have prescription opiates as part of his arsenal, but was not allowed to smoke a joint, legally, that is. That is irrational.

[TallDave]

The "War on Drugs" should be renamed the "War on Common Sense."