Jerry Ann Allers of La Grange Park is the mother of a son who was treated for
cancer. He died at the age of 20, cancer free with only two more chemo
treatments left. Why did he die?
He developed an unexplained lung infection and spent two horrific months on a
ventilator, dying slowly. After his death she learned that he had used
marijuana to ease his unbearable nausea. His physician had hospitalized him at
one point for several days to be able to give him stronger drugs to get him
through this difficult treatment. However, like many patients seeking to be
able to stay home or lead more “normal” lives while dealing with medical treatments, he made a fatal decision to use
marijuana instead of going back to the hospital or using other proven
treatments that would have saved his life.
• Singling one drug out for legislative approval that bypasses the Federal Drug
Administration (FDA) process for medications sets a dangerous precedent. Such
legislation establishes legislatures as the bodies determining what drugs will
be made available.
• There is no training provided for doctors in what amounts or in what form to
prescribe marijuana for medical use. There is no pharmaceutical supplier
available to answer questions and offer education and support to physicians and
their patients for this drug.
• There is no provision for increased marijuana abuse prevention education for
those who will have easier access to this drug for recreational use. This
legislation would come at a time when the state is significantly reducing drug
prevention and treatment services.
• The American Medical Association recommends retaining marijuana as a Schedule I
Controlled Substance pending the outcome of “adequate and well-controlled studies” of its possible medical use. Similarly, the Glaucoma Research Foundation
position states that marijuana is “less effective than safer and more available medicines.”
• This legislation is primed for abuses. As seen in other states, it is very
difficult to control medical use of marijuana and thus increases access and
availability for recreational use. The fact that marijuana is illegal and not
readily available in retail outlets serves as a deterrent for many, in deciding
whether to use it.
• By allowing patients to grow plants in their homes, the door is open to
increased crime from those who would seek to obtain those plants as well as
increased abuses by those who would distribute any “leftover” plants they don’t need.
We sympathize with the urgent needs of some patients. However, their needs must
be balanced with the safety of the larger community, and the well-being of
those who may be harmed by increased accessibility to a drug that has
definitive research proving its dangers. Medical research must be allowed to
take its course before putting this drug on the market.
Karel Ares is executive director of Prevention First, a Springfield-based
nonprofit resource center.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2009.
