Obama’s drug czar: Marijuana ‘has no medical benefit’

By GottaLaff

Tell it to the suffering patients who have been grateful for a little relief:

When President Barack Obama appointed former Seattle, Washington police chief Gil Kerlikowske to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, activists supporting marijuana policy reform were cheered by the news, however briefly. [...]

Even though Kerlikowske’s former city is famously tolerant of marijuana — which is less harmful and less addictive than America’s most popular, legal intoxicant, alcohol — that did not stop America’s new drug czar from demeaning the president’s position on medicinal use, telling a crowd in Fresno, California on Wednesday that marijuana is “dangerous” and “has no medical benefit,” according to The Fresno Bee.

He has no medical training and did not qualify his statements with any opinions from medical professionals.

Kerlikowske was discussing “Operation SOS — or, “Save Our Sierra” — which has been underway in California for the last 11 days.

“More than 314,000 plants were uprooted in 70 gardens — numbers expected to rise as the enforcement action continues,” the paper reported. “Agents also seized $41,000 in cash, 26 firearms and three vehicles.”

When Kerlikowske was announced as Obama’s choice for drug czar, the organizers of Seattle’s famous annual Hempfest welcomed the move. [...]

The plant can provide significant relief to sufferers of many chronic and life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, arthritis, muscular dystrophy and numerous others. [...]

It has also been shown to alleviate symptoms of less-threatening disorders such as uncontrollable anxiety, depression and insomnia, among others. [...]

Advocates of legalizing medical marijuana on the federal level also point to the fact that it is virtually impossible to die from overdosing on the substance; a stark contrast with other common pain relieving drugs such as aspirin, Ibuprofen and acetaminophen, which cause thousands of U.S. deaths every year according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. [...]

Kerlikowske’s 39-year-old son Jeff is in jail in Florida for parole violations stemming from marijuana-related charges. Kerlikowske said he has not spoken to or seen Jeff in over a decade.