MEDICAL MARIJUANA: NO CASE

The latest nail in the coffin of marijuana for medical purposes has been
hammered in by an article in the British Medical Journal. Two groups of
researchers combed through 39 clinical studies on the use of cannabis. The
first found that pot is no better than codeine for relief of severe pain,
and has undesirable side effects. The second found that the active
ingredients in marijuana were better than some drugs in relieving illness
caused by chemotherapy, but side effects were potentially serious and would
limit medical usefulness.

Marijuana "hasn't turned out to be a great success. There are, at the
moment, better alternatives," wrote Eija Kalso, an associate professor at
Helsinki University Hospital and one of the authors of the pain report. She
also wrote an editorial that said marijuana should be used medically only
in carefully controlled clinical trials, against conditions that have no
effective treatment.

For almost a decade, the drug lobby has tried to achieve back-door
legalization with an appeal to compassion. Several states, including
California, have passed medical marijuana laws by referendum. But cooler
heads are beginning to prevail.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that there is no "medical
marijuana defense" to federal law banning distribution of the drug, because
there's no conclusive evidence that the relief alleged to come from smoking
pot couldn't be obtained from other treatments.

Agitation for medical marijuana is a cruel hoax that plays on the
vulnerability of patients and the sympathy of the public. The British
Medical Journal report has helped to make this point.