Leave decision to patient, doctor

Regarding Burt Constable's Jan. 7th column, while there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug.

If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps them feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality of life decision best left to patients and their doctors.

Drug warriors waging war on noncorporate drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. Their prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records.

This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors should not be dictating health care decisions. It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for their patients; sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek relief from medical marijuana.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.