LEGISLATORS ARE SLOWLY WISING UP

Daring to raise the issue of decriminalizing the possession of marijuana
used to be a third rail of American politics: touch it and die.

But encouraging signs are emerging from various quarters showing that
public attitudes may be changing, at least when it comes to the use of
marijuana to relieve the debilitating side effects of some diseases. At
first blush, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to prohibit a "medical
necessity" defense for distributors of medical marijuana was a crushing
blow to the suffering Americans who find comfort in smoking this
all-natural reliever.

But the unanimous decision wasn't the knee-capper that it first appeared to be.

The court's 8-0 ruling (Justice Stephen Breyer didn't weigh in because his
brother was the trial judge in the case) applies only to federal law and
was focused almost exclusively on distribution issues. The case did not
venture into the realm of a state's prerogative to allow patients to use
medical marijuana with a doctor's approval.

Considering that almost 99 percent of marijuana arrests in this country are
made by state and local police, how states approach this issue has far
greater real-world impact on Americans than what the feds may or may not do.

Eight states and the District of Columbia have already enacted laws that
remove criminal penalties for patients who grow, use and possess medical
marijuana with their doctor's approval. Alaska, California, Colorado,
Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington made the change as a result of voter
initiatives. In Hawaii, the Legislature passed medical marijuana
legislation, and Gov. Ben Cayetano signed it into law in June.

The national debate over the decriminalization of medical marijuana is far
from over. In some circles, it hasn't even begun because certain mentally
time-warped politicians are too frightened to even broach the subject for
fear of being viewed as radical fringe.

It won't help the effort to bring a humane voice to this debate now that
John P. Walters has been tapped to be the national drug czar. Walters has
publicly aired Neanderthal views on the potential medicinal uses of marijuana.

Walters, who was a deputy to drug czars Bill Bennett and Bob Martinez from
1989 to 1993, testified in 1996 that he believed Congress should pull
prescription privileges from any and all doctors who recommended medical
marijuana for their patients.

Maybe Walters has changed his tune to one less harsh in light of the study
released in 1999 by the prestigious Institute of Medicine at the National
Academy of Sciences. The report said the compounds found in marijuana do
have medicinal applications and are effective, for example, in the
treatment of side effects from chemotherapy.

Medical marijuana isn't going to save anyone's life. It isn't going to kill
anyone, either. But it can provide relief, albeit temporary, to people who
are struggling to maintain some quality in their lives during their last
days. Opponents of the decriminalization of medical marijuana love to trot
out the cliche "slippery slope" when cautioning against the idea. If we
approve this, they warn, the next thing you know teens will be able to
purchase cocaine over the counter.

In reality, it's been a strenuous uphill push to raise the issue to
reasoned debate. Can we please drop the hyperbole?

No one with a sliver of compassion would wish a disease as devastating as
AIDS on another human being. But periodically, one wonders how lawmakers
might react if a family member or close friend were stricken with an
illness with symptoms that could be alleviated by medical marijuana.