I wouldn't begrudge someone dying of cancer pretty much any vice, marijuana or anything that helps take the pain away included. The argument is intellectually disingenuous, though, seeing as the overwhelming majority of conditions cannabis cards can be obtained for are nowhere near as serious as cancer. Granted, cancer and chemotherapy is always held up as the "standard" reason for legalized cannabis, but here's the list of qualifying conditions for obtaining a cannabis card in IL:
Alzheimer’s disease
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Arnold Chiari malformation
Cachexia
Cancer
Causalgia
Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
Complex regional pain syndrome type 2
Crohn’s Disease
Dystonia
Fibromyalgia
Fibrous dysplasia
Glaucoma
Hepatitis C
HIV/AIDS
Hydrocephalus
Hydromyelia
Interstitial Cystitis
Lupus
Multiple Sclerosis
Muscular Dystrophy
Myasthenia Gravis
Myoclonus
Nail patella syndrome
Neurofibromatosis
Parkinson’s disease Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sjogren’s syndrome
Spinal chord disease
Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)
Syringomyelia
Tarlov cysts
Tourette’s syndrome
Traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome
Oh, and headaches. That's right, headaches just got added to the list. Not migraines, which as a sufferer when I was younger, I understand to a degree, just plain old "frequent" headaches.
There certainly seems to be a wide swing in severity of conditions for which one could gain approval for a medical cannabis card in IL, yet every single person I've ever discussed this topic with jumps right to the cancer argument. Why is that? Could it be because only a monster would deny an end-of-life cancer patient something which they desire? Heck, we give cancer patients fentanyl and carfentanil, both of which kill people with even the slightest misjudged dose.
Add to that the fact that every single person I've spoken with who claims they need it medicinally says it's because they have ADHD, and is it any wonder people look at medical marijuana with a skeptical eye?
I'm sorry, stoners, but at least have the wherewithal to admit it's something you enjoy. Be enough of an adult to admit that, and then we can begin to debate the subject. But claiming it treats your dry eye syndrome, nervous twitch (yes, they're both on this list) or something equally ridiculous just makes most people not even want to hear your position.
And for the record, Husker, I'm not implying you're a stoner, I'm speaking to any outraged drug user who really does want it all. Sorry, life doesn't work like that. It's a balancing act, and I for one, couldn't care less about this ruling.