Jack Lawn: No medicinal purpose to marijuana

Regarding the June 2 editorial “Yes to medical marijuana” reprinted from the Fayetteville Observer: How disappointing that you would publish, without comment, a guest editorial extolling the medical benefits of marijuana.

Marijuana is listed in the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I, which means a drug “with no currently accepted medical use.” Marinol is a synthetic version of THC, which was approved by the FDA in 1985 and supported by the National Cancer Institute.

THC in marijuana indisputably damages cognition, especially among teenagers, and results in auto and industrial accidents and decreased mental acuity and academic achievement. Different from alcohol, a legal drug, THC is not water soluble like alcohol, and trace amounts remain in the brain for extended periods, with potential brain damage.

Marijuana is not bad because it is illegal; marijuana is illegal because it has no medical value. Check with the scientists and the doctors. It is said that “emotion is the enemy of analysis.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2015 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Jack Lawn: No medicinal purpose to marijuana."