FUTURE OF MEDICINAL MARIJUANA HINGES ON SUPREME COURT CASE

The U.S. Supreme Court's agreement yesterday to hear a potentially landmark
case on the medical use of marijuana could ultimately decide whether the
chronically ill can toke up in the Bay State.

``This could make or break state efforts to authorize the medicinal use of
marijuana,'' said Jack Beermann, a law professor at Boston University.

``I'm not sure every issue is going to get resolved in this case, but it
could if (the justices) make a sweeping decision.''

The high court agreed to hear a U.S. Justice Department appeal of a ruling
that would allow marijuana clubs in California to provide pot to patients
who are able to prove medical necessity.

The decision to hear the case marks the latest step in the battle between
the states' right to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana and the
potentially preemptive federal narcotics laws prohibiting the manufacturing
and distribution of pot.

``If the Supreme Court of the U.S. decides there's a federal law that
prohibits distribution and manufacturing of marijuana, then a state could
not authorize violations of that,'' said Beermann.

The California initiative allows sick patients who have a doctor's
recommendation to grow and use marijuana for relief of pain and nausea.

Eight states in addition to California have passed medical-marijuana laws:
Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado.

In August 1996, former Gov. William F. Weld signed into law the Therapeutic
Research Act, which theoretically permitted the drug's medicinal use for the
effects of glaucoma, chemotherapy and asthma.

But the major problem in implementing the state policy has been in finding a
federally sanctioned ``source,'' or dealer, said Roseanne Pawelec,
spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health.

``It's the opinion of this office that we would be operating outside the law
without a federally approved source,'' she said. ``From a health standpoint,
it would not be prudent to have a source from the street, which is often
contaminated.''

The most recent evidence of the Bay State's growing approval of the medical
use of marijuana is the overwhelming passage of a non-binding referendum in
favor of medicinal pot in the Fourth Barnstable District on Election Day.

``I'm believing there's widespread interest,'' said Rep. Shirley Gomes
(R-Harwich), who plans to file a bill in December on behalf of Provincetown
selectmen. ``It was a surprise to me that every one of the towns had a
favorable vote.''

Gomes said she hopes the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling provides some direction
to the states, one way or the other.

Beermann's tentative guess is that the U.S. Supreme Court will find the
California law a violation of federal law.

``(Advocates of state control) should be nervous,'' he said. ``They should
be asking Congress to change the law.''