From the current issue of Time Magazine, in reference to who uses “medical” marijuana:

“Colorodo health department records show that only 2% of registered [medical marijuana] patients had cancer; 1% had HIV/AIDS. There were 94% who suffered ‘severe pain’–a catchall condition that can be entirely subjective and difficult for a doctor to measure or verify. Statewide, more than 70% of doctor recommendations were written by fewer than 15 physicians. Three out of four patients are men under 40. This patient profile–young males complaining of chronic pain-has been roughly the same in other medical-marijuana states like Montana and California.” 

I watched my mother-in-law die of cancer, and I would have gladly advocated for the use of medical marijuana to help her pain and nausea. But medicalizing a 25-year old man’s pot-habit not only seems like a farce to me, but also a potential danger–to the 25-year old and to the rest of us. 

So where does that leave me? Perhaps as an advocate for stricter laws surrounding medical marijuana. Certainly in support of actual medicine in-the-works that “has been effective for pain from MS spasms and cancer treatment without causing the marijuana high.” And once again aware that ethics and laws aren’t the same thing.