>>> Part 1 of 3...
-=> Quoting Jane Kelley to Alex Vasauskas <=-
 AV>Actually, marijuana can have significant health benefits.  This
 AV>is why states have passed laws permitting medicinal marijuana use.
 AV>Moreover, using marijuana is not a significant health hazard.
 AV>Here is a synopsis by the Norml Foundation of a study
 AV>entitled "Marijuana Use and Mortality".  The report of the study
 AV>appeared in the April 1997 issue of the _American Journal of
 AV>Public Health_:
 
 JK> And I can find more information to the contrary.
 
 AV>Assuming that you can, I would be surprised if it's competent:
 JK> Your attitude won't change the facts, nor will the so-called
 JK> "experts" who want to keep using their drug of choice.
 JK> I do have some papers and books around here on this subject,
 AV>I have seen the evidence regarding your purported plethora of
 AV>authorities -- it is as substantial as Joe McCarthy's list of
 AV>names of communists.  If you spent as much time typing up what you
 AV>claim to have as you have spent typing your proclamations regarding
 AV>its existence, you would by now have it available to upload for
 AV>others to review by a simple import command.
 JK> I'm not responsible for your lack of knowledge on subjects
 JK> I've spent 50 years accumulating.
 JK> I suggest you go find a copy of the DSM IV, the official
 JK> manual of mental illnesses in this nation, and find out what
 JK> it says in it about marijuana.  That is, if you want the truth
 JK> instead of whatever your peers tell you is so.
Many people with 50 years of experience have only one year
of experience repeated 50 times.
You have no knowledge regarding what I know or who my peers are,
and my making representations regarding what I know wouldn't make
any difference because (like your purported credentials) there is
no way to check their validity here.  This is why I have relied
upon presenting information that can be publicly checked.
Moreover, even if your representation of your background
is true, there is no way to know your credibility.  In fact,
during your participation in various echoes on fidonet you have
not provided anything other than evidence that you are a person
with his/her own personal opinion and agenda.  You drop the names
of authorities without specific citation, and if your opinion is
supported by authoritative resources in any way, it is supported 
only by reading for the parts of such resources (such as DSM IV)
that agree with your view and ignoring the parts that don't
support your agenda.
It is not surprising that your personal opinion is contrary to
authorities like the American Public Health Association which
relies upon current research and is interested in developing
the truth about marijuana:
The American Public Health Association's Endorsement on 
Medical Marijuana
In November of 1995, the American Public Health Association, the
oldest and largest organization of health care professionals in the
world, overwhelmingly adopted a resolution urging lawmakers to make
marijuana legally available as a medicine for seriously ill
patients. The APHA represents more than 50,000 members and has
been effectively influencing policies and setting priorities in
public health since 1872. APHA is one of the first major American
public health associations to formally recommend using marijuana
as a medicine:
===Begin===
The American Public Health Association,
Being aware that cannabis/marijuana has been used
medicinally for centuries and that cannabis products were
widely prescribed by physicians in the United Stares until
1937 [1,2] and
Being aware that "marijuana" prohibition began with the
Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 under false claims despite
disagreeing testimony from the AMA's representative; [3,4]
and Being further aware that the Controlled Substances Act of
1970 completely prohibited all medicinal use of marijuana by
placing it in the most restrictive category of Schedule I,
whereby drugs must meet three criteria for placement in this
category: 1) have no therapeutic value, 2) are not safe for
medical use, and 3) have a high abuse potential; [5] and
Being cognizant that the Drug Enforcement
Administration's own administrative law judge ruled in 1988
that marijuana must be removed from Schedule I and made
available for physicians to prescribe: [6-8] and
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