Montel Williams speaks out on medical marijuana

Talk show host Montel Williams has come out and admitted that he uses marijuana as a treatment for his Multiple Sclerosis. Williams who went public with his MS diagnosis in 1999, has also founded the Montel Williams MS Foundationto further the scientific study of MS in hope of one day finding a cure. Williams has stated that he, just as many other MS sufferers have been prescribed pain medications such as Oxycontin, Percocet and others, and he knows from a personal standpoint how addictive they can be. He says that after a friend told him that medical marijuana could possibly be a successful treatment for the symptoms of his MS, he decided to talk to his doctor about it and now uses the marijuana as prescribed by his doctor. To read more about Montel’s struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and his use of medical marijuana check out his new book Living Well Emotionally: Break Through to a Life of Happiness.

Williams along with others are stepping up to try and reform the U.S. marijuana laws to allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana when recommended by their doctor. The Marijuana Policy Project is one of the major organizations rallying against marijuana laws in the U.S. It was quite interesting to view the laws regarding medical marijuana on the MPP site. For the most part, bills have been introduced to the legislator but have not been passed. Another site with great info concerning medical marijuana is Medical Marijuana ProCon which gives the pros and the cons of medical marijuana. The site is not government affiliated and serves for educational purposes only. The site also gives educational information regarding medical information including deaths from medical marijuana versus 17 FDA approved drugs and also has information studying pharmaceutical drugs that are based on cannabis.

Did you know that studies have shown that medical marijuana has been proven to help patients with the following illnesses?

AIDS & HIV, Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis, Alzheimer’s and others

This makes it even sadder that the federal government can prosecute medical marijuana patients. Many health organizations and voters are in support of medical marijuana and are striving to pass laws that will protect patients who use the drug under the recommendation of their doctors to treat their illnesses.

Those opposed to changing the marijuana laws have stated reasons such as addiction and criminal activity, but studies show that In the U.S., there are more arrests for marijuana possession each year than for all violent crimes combined so even in its illegal state marijuana is still being grown, sold, purchased and used. Why not reform the laws so that people who need the drug medically can use it legally?