EVERYDAY ETHICS: MARIJUANA IS ILLEGAL, NOT WRONG

Q: I have HIV and use cannabis to alleviate nausea and lack of appetite. A
friend grows and provides it at no cost. I distribute the remaining
cannabis to 15 or so other people who either have HIV or are undergoing
chemotherapy. We all know this is illegal but feel that our lives come
first. Are we not being ethical?

Anonymous Virginia

A: I'm with you: What you are doing is illegal but not unethical. Society
acknowledges a moral right to break the law in extreme circumstances each
time a sitcom cop pulls over some hapless guy for speeding and asks,
"Where's the fire, buddy?"

The implication: If the driver really is racing to extinguish a blaze,
exceeding the speed limit is acceptable. Similarly, medical necessity can
trump marijuana laws.

While there are sound arguments for law-abiding behavior even when a law is
ludicrous, in this situation you harm no one while relieving the suffering
of the gravely ill who have no alternative remedy -- compelling reasons to
violate the law.

And you needn't worry that you are implicated in the occasional gunplay of
the marijuana trade; that violence is a consequence of prohibition, not
pharmacology. One would expect the not-for-profit, grow-your-own network of
medical cannabis suppliers to be insulated from the excesses of the
commercial trade.

A recent Supreme Court decision confirms marijuana's classification under
federal law as an illegal Schedule I drug with "no currently accepted
medical use." Although the ruling does not overturn state statutes -- eight
states have passed medical marijuana initiatives -- it contradicts what
many patients and doctors (including the California Medical Association)
believe.

Thus, for you to provide cannabis to the seriously ill is not just an act
of compassion but an assertion of truth, albeit not one a federal drug
enforcement agent would find persuasive.