Michael Swickard

When my doctor said I had cancer, I wondered what indignities I would suffer while wrestling with survival. There were plenty, but thanks to advances in medical research I survived. At that time I never thought about medical marijuana since I did not need its palliative effects.

This October we concentrate on cancer generally — and breast cancer specifically — which strikes across all demographic boundaries. Oddly, there is a political edge to cancer in the area of medical marijuana that connects to the debate over federally controlled health care.

A friend is currently fighting cancer, so I have a front-row seat in a federal-versus-states battle over medical marijuana.

Street marijuana is not the same as medical marijuana. The decision of use of medical marijuana should be entirely up to doctors and their patients.

Under a doctor’s care the state of New Mexico, along with many other states, allows the use of medical marijuana. The federal government, however, does not. So in New Mexico the use of medical marijuana is both medically legal and politically illegal.

Marijuana does not make cancer cells shrink. Rather, it brings comfort in a very uncomfortable time for chemotherapy patients, and thereby increases survival rates.

When I was treated for cancer, I had robust radiation and was so hot (not in the Hollywood way) that I was locked for three days in a lead-lined room at the hospital to protect people from me. I was ill for months afterward.

What if I had desired to use medical marijuana and my doctor concurred? I would have run afoul of those smug people who think they know better what treatments I should receive. They think I should just suffer for some greater good.

Putting heartless people in charge of health care

With the federal government running our health-care debate, perhaps we should consider how the federal government has handled the medical marijuana issue. They have shown no compassion for people with cancer, despite some states permitting the use of medical marijuana. Should we put those heartless people in charge of our health care?

Further, our five elected members of Congress have not carried the good fight for us. Do they represent the citizens to the government or the government to the citizens? They should not bend to some federal bureaucratic decision to not allow medical marijuana use.

This medical issue has no connection to decriminalizing marijuana. It is a completely different argument about anyone getting between you and your doctor. If your doctor feels there is value in this treatment, no one else should have any say whatsoever.

Again, this is not about efficacy. Even if people only thought they felt better at one of the lowest times in their life, it is valuable. This is about two things: the doctor/patient role and having human compassion for people with cancer.

Land grant schools should grow and distribute medical marijuana

A further problem is that because of the federal government opposing medical marijuana, it is hard for legitimate patients to get it. Our five members of Congress need to sponsor legislation so each land-grant university produces and distributes medical marijuana to their state’s people in need.

The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the cooperative extension service in each land-grant university to inform and bring to people throughout their state developments in agriculture. Medical marijuana is a very controlled crop which must have dependable strength and purity. That’s right where Agriculture fits in. Who better to grow the crop?

The question of federal health-care control revolves around the question of whether the government knows better than your doctor as to what treatment you should get. Of course, if your doctor no longer can control your treatment, our health-care system has just been flushed down the toilet.

The debate over federal control of health care causes us to see what health-care decisions the federal government has already made. That takes us to medical marijuana. Against our doctor’s advice, they deny a treatment to people who are on the verge of death. We should realize we have some very useful data about how they would run the rest of health care.

I do not see a time when I would need or want medical marijuana, but I always need my doctor to work directly with me in my health decisions.

Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.

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