I am happy for the Utah parents who can now obtain cannabis products that will help seizure-prone children. It’s a grand achievement for Utah. Some of these parents’ daily stress will be diminished with a simple, effective remedy that, in a sane world, could be grown in their home at near zero cost.
But this also makes me jealous. Over the past several months, my elderly mother has begun to develop tell-tale signs of dementia. While accepted anti-dementia drugs merely slow the loss of brain cells, research has shown that cannabis actually promotes brain-cell growth, potentially reversing Alzheimer’s progression and restoring some normal brain function—and yet it is still considered a criminal offense if I were to obtain some and administer it to my mother.
Even now, as the Drug Enforcement Administration spends millions of our tax dollars—most directed toward marijuana suppression—pharmaceutical companies who receive subsidies (again our tax money) to figure out how to process, package and market it at a cost they see fit to make available to the public under their conditions: $$$.
Indeed, it is great that it will be available for this small group of people in Utah, but why stop there? For one moment, place the economic benefit to the greater public above the corporate bottom line. Consider what it would mean to those who can benefit from cannabis products if they could obtain relief at much lower costs, or grow their own. That money—left in our hands rather than funneled into CEO and shareholder profits—would mean a lot.
It’s time Utah governance realized this and joined our neighboring Western states in the growing anti-prohibition movement.
Clee P. Ames
Eureka
More by City Weekly Readers
-
Feedback from April 11 and Beyond
- Apr 17, 2024
-
Feedback from April 4 and Beyond
- Apr 10, 2024
-
Feedback from March 28 and Beyond
- Apr 3, 2024
- More »
Latest in Letters
