TIME TO SETTLE ISSUE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

We're not surprised that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to make an
exception to federal drug laws and let physicians prescribe marijuana
for medical purposes. The justices examined the federal Controlled
Substances Act and found no such exception to federal narcotics law
exists to allow the practice.

However, given the strong anecdotal evidence of marijuana's benefit in
certain instances, the medical community should fully investigate its
use and Congress should settle the issue.

Marijuana is said to help relieve nausea and cramping associated with
diseases such as cancer. The problem is that there is no clear
scientific evidence -- yet -- that marijuana can combat the
debilitating effects of diseases or do so any better than legal
medication. One of the first such investigations has just begun at the
University of California. If such research demonstrates conclusively
that marijuana has specific medical usefulness, Congress should amend
federal law.

A recent study by the U.S. Institute of Medicine shows the task at
hand:

* There are more than 30 symptoms for which patients presently use
marijuana. Most of these uses are poorly studied.

* Marijuana's effects are limited to symptom relief, not cures of
disease, and are generally modest. Many physicians believe that for
most symptoms, there are more effective drugs already on the market.

* For patients who do not respond well to standard medications, or for
whom adjunct therapies are needed, the chemical ingredients in
marijuana appear to hold potential for treating pain,
chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and the poor appetite and
wasting caused by AIDS or advanced cancer. For other conditions, the
data are not encouraging.

* There is no compelling evidence that marijuana should be used to
treat glaucoma. And with the exception of painful muscle spasms
associated with multiple sclerosis, there is little evidence of the
drug's potential for treating migraines or movement disorders like
Parkinson's disease or Huntington's disease.

* Marijuana's potential as medicine is seriously undermined by the
fact that people smoke it, thereby increasing their chance of cancer
and lung disease.

Voters in nine states and the District of Columbia have allowed
medical use of marijuana. The ruling doesn't wipe out our state's law
passed in 1998, but it adds a risk to users of being prosecuted under
federal law.

It's time for scientific answers and, if necessary, congressional
action.