Thanks for covering the latest news on efforts in New York to help the sickest of the sick with medical cannabis ("Key issues of legality endure," April 17). A close reading of the proposed bill reveals it has benefited from the 17 medical cannabis laws that have passed in other states and the District of Columbia.
Medical cannabis in New York would have the tightest controls present in any state. We now have compelling data supporting medical cannabis in the treatment of pain, insomnia, the loss of appetite and nausea associated with treatments for cancer and AIDS, and a host of other ailments.
Government surveys reveal no increases in teen use in states that have passed comparable bills. My own laboratory here in Albany has data showing problems related to cannabis are especially rare in medical users. Surely, New Yorkers deserve the same treatment options as the citizens in medical cannabis states.
Mitch Earleywine
professor of psychology, University at Albany