How is withholding legitimate treatment from the needy Christ-like?

Pope Francis weighed yesterday in on the issue of legalizing pot.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church said legalizing marijuana “won’t bring any positive results,” and that the motive for legalizing the drug was “highly questionable,” The Washington Times reports.

I agree with Pope Francis that using marijuana to get high is not a wise thing to do, and is dangerous for younger, not fully developed brains. On the other hand, it has been shown that there are certain strains of cannibis that have marvelous medicinal value, and do not lead to getting high.

Neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent says that it is irresponsible not to provide medical marijuana when it is known to help people suffering from a number of illnesses.



Gupta writes:

I am a father myself, first and foremost. I don't want my children taking or being offered a psychoactive substance. As a neurosurgeon, I know that the developing brain is more susceptible to the most harmful effects of cannabis and that brain development continues well into our mid-20s.

I also worry that generations from now, my great-grandkids will find Internet headlines referring to me as the "pot doc." I do hope they will also read the rest of the story and understand the lives of the countless people who have suffered needlessly when a plant could have helped. I hope they know that I have dedicated my time to researching the medical literature, speaking to the scientists in person and piecing together a fact-based presentation meant to educate, not frighten.

I hope future generations won't consider me naive. Yes, I know there is a concern that many people out there will feign ailments just to get marijuana. But withholding legitimate treatment for the needy is a very unjust way of addressing that concern.

Do you know about Charlotte's Web? No, not the book, the marijuana strain. Read this incredible story by Saundra Young about a special strain of marijuana that saved the life of a Colorado girl who was suffering from seizures.

About Charlotte, Gupta writes:

she is one of so many patients out there, suffering from different ailments, who believe cannabis rescued them when nothing else did.

For conditions like Charlotte's, the American Epilepsy Society says that there are a million people for whom existing therapies do not control their seizures. The society recently said anecdotes about medical marijuana "give reason for hope" and said it supports "well-controlled studies that will lead to a better understanding of the disease and the development of safe and effective treatments."

You should know that Charlotte continues to do well. When I saw her around the holidays, she ran over and gave me a hug. She looked me in the eyes, took me by the hand and led me all around to meet her friends. She is a delightful, happy and now healthy little girl.

I know the discussion around this topic will no doubt get heated. I have felt that heat. But I feel a greater responsibility than ever to make sure those heated discussions are also well-informed by science.

Gupta points out that:

Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, defined as "the most dangerous" drugs "with no currently accepted medical use."

Neither of those statements has ever been factual. Even many of the most ardent critics of medical marijuana don't agree with the Schedule I classification, knowing how it's impeded the ability to conduct needed research on the plant.

Please read more of Gupta here.

If the government changed the way it classifies marijuana and therefore allowed research to develop strains of cannibis that helped with pain and seizures, but did not lead to people getting high, would not that be the compassionate, Christ-like thing to do?