Was reading the local paper and saw a letter to the editor which caught my eye. It was about prop 203 in Arizona and to vote no on it. I read it and realized it was a bunch of misinformation. How would you guys respond to this need to prove some people wrong here. Editor, Casa Grande Dispatch: Proposition 203 calls itself “medical” marijuana for serious illness, but that’s dishonest. In other states only 2-3 percent of medical marijuana patients have cancer, AIDS or glaucoma. The rest have mild problems or none at all. Most are under age 40. In Boulder, Colo., all the marijuana dispensaries are on college campuses. They’re just using people with cancer to play on our sympathies. Besides, the American Cancer Society, American Glaucoma Society and National Multiple Sclerosis Society are all against medical marijuana. The demand for medical marijuana isn’t coming from doctors or the seriously ill; it’s coming from pot smokers. And the law gives them unbelievable protections. Under Prop. 203, employees can come to work high on marijuana and can’t be fired or sent home for the day even if they’re heavy equipment operators or school teachers. Child Protective Services can’t tell abusive, drug-addicted parents to stop smoking pot. And people can drive under the influence of marijuana and can’t be charged with DUI. Prop. 203 strips away basic protections for children, employers, co-workers and users of Arizona’s highways, and instead protects pot smokers. Medical marijuana states have the highest rates of teenage marijuana use. Research shows teenage pot-smokers do worse in school and are more likely to drop out. Medical marijuana states also have far more traffic fatalities caused by marijuana, which is just as deadly behind the wheel as alcohol. After California passed a similar law, the number of deadly car crashes caused by marijuana doubled. Please vote no on 203. Ed Gogek, MD Casa Grande
I wish there was a way to email Dr. Gogek and educate him. Unfortunately, my experience with MD's is that they are just as susceptible to ignorance as the rest of the general public. I work in alternative medicine and see MD bias, and ignorance on a daily basis. Perhaps you could write to the paper a rebuttal
haha i'm super baked right now, and the first time a read through your post i was gonna reply with vigor about how you're the ignorant one. Luckily i read it through again before i posted Good luck with the rebuttal and if you get a chance, throw it up here
This is what I sent. I hope that my information is accurate and will provide the public with a better understanding of Cannabis. Recently I read a Letter to the Editor regarding Proposition 203. This letter was filled with misleading information. In the letter it said that the American Cancer Society and several other reputable health organization do not support Medical Marijuana. This is far from truthful. In fact, the ACS is supportive of research into the benefits of cannabinoids. While the ACS doesn't support the legalization of the plant, it never has stated its opposition to medical cannabis. In the letter it also talks about Child Protective Services having no authority to tell parents to quit using marijuana. Yet can they mandate parents to quit taking other prescription medications? I think not. It also states that patients may be exempt from getting DUI’s while driving their vehicle. This is completely untrue. Every Medical Marijuana program ever instated has laws covering the use of motor vehicles while medicating with marijuana. You WILL get a DUI if you get behind the wheel while medicating. Another point brought up was that states with medical marijuana programs have the highest rate of teenage marijuana use. Is this a result of the medical programs? I believe not. I looked on the Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base to find out which states have the highest rates of marijuana use among teens. Out of the 5 top states only 2 of them had medical programs. Please vote yes on 203. It's time to just say NOW!
Why isn't this doctor worried about serious drugs that can actually harm a patients health like alcohol or tobacco? Why doesn't we worry about making those Illegal?
cuz he makes $$ off of treating those patients. Pot, on the other hand, might decrease the number of his patients. Chronic back pain? you can go to the doctor and get some prescription pain pills. OR you can save yourself the trip and money, and smoke a joint instead.
I found the letter online you are referring to, here you go, have at it blades. TriValley Central > Opinion > Letters To The Editor > Letter to the Editor, Gogek
' Of course patients are protected just like if I were to take 4 ritalin to get high they cant send me home. And kids in medical marijuana states use alot of weed because these are progressing states and they smoked alot before just as much in fact. And pot isn't a problem. Shrooms, pot, and sugar are some of the safest drugs known to man.
Little does this doctor realize, that if he also got himself a MMJ license and prescribed buds to patients, he'd still have a lot of patients that need pills but he'd also make money from those that need buds....fucking douche.