Cannabis has many medical properties, notably the alleviation of suffering in chronic diseases. It should therefore be freely available  Cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for at least 5,000 years most frequently as an analgesic, that is to say it reduces pain. It also stimulates hunger and can be used as an anti-emetic to control nausea and vomiting. As the DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young noted in a 1988 ruling [i] , there is no evidence of a fatality resulting from the misuse of cannabis. Indeed the Dutch government currently permits doctors regulated by its Ministry of Health and Welfare to prescribe cannabis to their patients. Further, the Dutch state has licensed a pharmaceutical firm to provide cannabis of a guaranteed level of purity to pharmacies and medical professionals. [ii]  There are accounts and studies of its successful application to treat the effects of chemotherapy as well as its palliative [iii] use in MS and AIDS [iv] . For governments to turn their backs on a perfectly useful drug simply to prove a point is confusing at best and petulant at worst.  [i] Docket No. 86-22. “OPINION AND RECOMMENDED RULING, FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND DECISION OF Administrative LAW JUDGE.” FRANCIS L. YOUNG, Administrative Law Judge. 6 September 1988.  [ii] Bedrocan BV home page, 15 November 2011.   [iii] “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants.” Espacenet patent search. 07 October 2003.   [iv] “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants.” Patentstorm. 07 October 2003.