I’ve never subscribed to the caveat to scrub politics and
religion from my discourse. Indeed, you
will find these two subjects riddled throughout this blog. I think we need more dialogue, not less. I do agree, however, that dialoguing is a
skill. But it’s not brain surgery. Any of us can become adept practitioners of
this seemingly lost art, if we so desire.
It requires listening with an open mind.
It implies that your view on an issue might be modified in the face of a
persuasive argument. And your responses
should respond to what has just been said to you indicating that the other side
has been heard.
So, now let’s talk some politics. First, assess your political acumen by
answering the following quiz question.
Which of the following issues should not be handled by
elected officials?
(a) Tax policy
(b) Zoning ordinances
(c) Which chemotherapy regimen should be
permitted for breast cancer patients
(d) Parks and Recreation issues
I realize that this is an extremely difficult question and
many readers are probably struggling over it.
Perhaps, you might confer you with your own city council representative
for some assistance.
Well, here in Ohio and elsewhere, elected legislatures are
issuing medical directives, as crazy as this sounds. Would it make sense for elected officials to
offer a bill on how best to treat diabetes, heart disease or depression? (Hint:
No it wouldn’t).
Politicians are not medical professionals and are wholly
unqualified to offer medical advice.
Their ‘medical’ opinions would surely be tainted by
political considerations. If a
pharmaceutical company, for example, was in a politician’s district, might this
shape the politician’s bill? (Hint: It would.)
We already have a group of folks who are trained to render
medical advice. Have you heard of the medical profession?
In Ohio, medical marijuana has been legal these past few
years. The state legislature – not
doctors or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – have decided which medical
illnesses are marijuana eligible. Periodically, the list of illnesses
lengthens. I hope that my points
earlier in this post have convinced you of the insanity of this absurd
process. Not surprisingly, the quality
of medical evidence supporting marijuana’s efficacy for nearly all of the
illnesses on the list is very low. Trust
me, if the FDA’s standards of safety and efficacy were applied, the list might
be reduced to zero items. (FDA assessment can’t happen now as marijuana is a
Schedule 1 controlled drug and is an illegal substance.)
Medical cannabis is not a new remedy. Medicine bottle from 1937.
Here's the latest ‘medical news’ from our Ohio politicians. A bill has passed the Ohio Senate that would
permit marijuana use to any individual who can “reasonably be expected to
benefit” from its use. Can we agree that
this designation is rather broad and could be applied to any and all medical
conditions on the planet? Let’s see if
the Ohio House goes along with this scam.
I'm not against medical marijuana. But I do think it should be vetted in the same way that all other drugs are.
Remind me, is it still illegal to practice medicine without
a license?
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