And then I wrote...
by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"
... that I take eight medications each day. Some of the prescribed drugs replace, for various reasons, other drugs I have taken over the past 23 years.
I try to keep up with current things. I read a couple daily papers and listen to a couple radio and television news shows each day. But I must have missed something.
I cannot imagine why the Iowa Legislature is being asked to “approve” the use of medical cannabis. I sincerely doubt if the Iowa legislature was asked to approve any of the dozen or more drugs I have taken. I guess I assumed that the way a drug got on the market includes all or some combination of laboratory research, perhaps animal testing, field testing, Center for Disease Control or Food and Drug Administration approval, drug company sales agents or medical association information being made available to prescribers, and notice to pharmacies.
Is it because cannabis is a derivative of the marijuana plant, and marijuana is a controlled substance? Probably.
But that would not make it the only drug derived from naturally occurring substances.
A Navy flight surgeon gave me a codeine cough syrup which was better than anything else I took for what once were semi-annual bouts with bronchitis. When I tried to obtain it after leaving the Navy, I was told I needed a doctor’s prescription because codeine is a derivative of opium, a controlled substance obtained from poppies. Both plants will grow wild or may be cultivated. No legislative action was mentioned concerning poppies.
I see no reason why medical cannabis should be treated any differently. Has it been field tested? Is it approved by agencies of experts? If so, let doctors prescribe it as they see fit, and have pharmacies stock it.
Only registered pharmacists could sell the drug. It would not be available at the local “head shop” on recommendation of Dr. Feelgood.
If that sounds too reasonable, look beyond the obvious.
The real goal of some supporters is to open the gates to approval of recreational use of marijuana and marijuana products.
