The Des Moines Register
Post Office Box 957, Des Moines, Iowa 50304
Phone: 515-284-8000 / Fax: 515-286-2504
E-mail: letters@dmreg.com

Page 18A, The Des Moines Register, Thursday, November 7, 1996

The Register's Editorials

Wise use of marijuana backed

        Curt Smith ("Marijuana Is Hardly a Cure," Oct. 24) denies that marijuana has valid medical uses and criticizes state Senator Elaine Szymoniak for voicing support of its medically-supervised use. He is wrong on both counts.
        Actually, marijuana has been used as a safe and effective medicine for nearly every culture on Earth for thousands of years. Modern research, to the extent that is has been allowed, has continued to support its safety and efficacy for a variety of conditions.
        Recently that American Nurses Association approved a resolution calling for nurses' education regarding the therapeutic uses of marijuana and supporting continued investigation in controlled trials. The ANA joins the American Public Health Association, the National Nurses Society on Addictions and several state nursing associations supporting patients' rights to use marijuana as medicine under medical supervision.
        Szymoniak and other Iowa legislators who support responsible use of medical marijuana are to be praised for their compassion and courage.

-- Sylvia and Ben Olson,
57615 220th Ave., Pocahontas.