Put pot in a pill

Special interest groups, guided by an attorney, are exploiting the idiosyncrasies of a poorly written state law about medical marijuana and the state law’s conflict with federal law. Law enforcement is stymied, the City Council is beleaguered and medical marijuana dispensaries are perceived as fronts for Mexican drug cartels.

Like any drug, marijuana, or THC, can be therapeutic, but it can also be toxic and potentially lethal if its dosage, frequency and duration of use are not controlled. The THC content of the marijuana sold in dispensaries or on the streets is not uniform or standardized. Some marijuana sold in Missoula was lab-tested to be nothing more than straw and horse manure.

Educated, compassionate physicians understand this and prescribe marinol or dronabinol, which come in capsule or pill form. Dosage is thus measured, controllable and therapeutic.

Why don’t medical marijuana patients take their medicine in pill or capsule form? The pharmacist is easier and cheaper to deal with than the shadowy marijuana dispensary dealers or street dealers. Legal ambiguity about this matter would “go up in smoke.” Law enforcement could relax, and the City Council would have one less agenda item. Also, marijuana emergency room usage would decrease.

James J. Flynn

Spokane