Medical marijuana: Boon and bane

No, we are not losing the opportunity to legalize marijuana, as one letter writer has said. If at all, we are simply looking at its bane, not just its boon, if any. I hate to say this, but to readily emulate what’s happening now in other countries, like Germany and Thailand, is manifest colonial mentality.

Yes, some medical researches, especially in the West, have revealed a number of ailments for which medical marijuana has been recommended and its use as anti-nauseant and appetite stimulant, anti-spasmodic/anti-convulsive, analgesic or pain reliever, and anti-inflammatory/anti-immune system. The problem is, these ailments have long been known to be equally, if not more effectively, treatable by many other well-known drugs that are accessible either over the counter or via a doctor’s prescription. Why take the risk of legalizing an otherwise highly prohibited drug when such risk can be reasonably avoided? That is how simple and commonsensical this controversial issue is.

RUDY CORONEL,

Batangas City