North Dakota's top health official and a
supporter of medical marijuana are sparring about whether pot has
health benefits.
Health officer Terry Dwelle says the federal Food and Drug
Administration hasn't approved marijuana as a medicine.
Dwelle says there's increased heart attack risk for someone who
smokes marijuana, and the smoke itself has cancer-causing elements.
Fargo state legislator Steve Zaiser is chairman of the North
Dakota medical marijuana campaign.
He says there's plenty of medical literature about marijuana
benefits for chemotherapy patients and people who suffer from
lymphoma.
Zaiser says people don't have to smoke much marijuana to get
pain relief, and it shouldn't be compared to cigarettes.
Secretary of State Al Jaeger is reviewing a medical marijuana
ballot initiative. He'll decide later whether it goes on the
ballot.
