THE ROLE OF CANNABIS - SNUFFING OUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA - REAL AGENDA NIPPED
IN THE BUD

By Ruling Against Doobies As Legal Pain Relievers, The U.S. Supreme Court
Lit Up Debate Over Its No-Exceptions Interpretation Of The Federal
Controlled Substance Act

In its resounding "no" to California organizations that distribute
marijuana - supposedly for medical purposes - the U.S. Supreme Court
reaffirmed Congress' "determination that marijuana has no medical benefits
worthy of an exception" to any prohibitions in the Controlled Substances Act.

The court also rejected medical necessity as a defense to manufacturing and
distributing marijuana. The ruling is in accord with the scientific
evidence on marijuana, at least in its smoked form.

Despite howls of outrage from legalization advocates, the truth is that
smoked marijuana has never been accepted by the Food and Drug
Administration or any reputable medical association for medicinal use. A
1999 study by the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine
concluded that "smoked marijuana is a harsh delivery system and should
generally not be recommended for medical use." This, naturally, cuts little
ice with medical marijuana proponents, most of whom come largely from the
same circles that have attempted to legalize pot and other drugs for decades.

Which is not to say that the isolated components of marijuana - currently
being researched extensively - may never be found to have medical value. If
they do, delivery systems such as patches, injections and pills will be
developed. Unfortunately for the recreational pot users who hide behind the
smoke screen of "medical use," marijuana in its smoked form will likely
never be approved - even for people with HIV, often held up as Exhibit A by
the legalization movement. The National Institutes of Health has warned
that "people with HIV and others whose immune system is impaired should
avoid marijuana use."

Marijuana smoked long term has been shown to contribute to cancer and
problems with the respiratory and reproductive systems. The smoke contains
some of the same carcinogens found in tobacco - often in higher concentrations.

Smoking just five joints per week, a NIH study showed, is equivalent to
smoking a pack of cigarettes daily for seven days. It also impairs motor
skills, a medical fact I learned firsthand when a driver high on dope
killed a friend of mine in junior high school. Contrary to popular myth,
marijuana can kill.

Also contrary to popular myth, opponents of California's Proposition 215
and other "medical use" proposals do not lack compassion. No one I know
would argue against properly conducted, tightly controlled experiments on
marijuana in all its forms, if there is a chance that it can alleviate the
suffering of those in pain. But we also know that marijuana, at least in
its smoked form, is not a medicine, and allowing it is simply drug
legalization by the back door.

Ethan Nadelmann, a well-known academic and critic of current drug policy,
believes that "possession of small amounts of any drug for personal use has
to be legal" and that such drugs could even be "available to adults by mail
order. " Under a legalization plan proposed by Nadelmann's colleague,
Arnold Trebach, "addicts would be able to purchase heroin and needles they
need at reasonable prices from a non-medical drugstore."

The sugar daddy of the medical marijuana movement, financier George Soros,
once told Nadelmann, "We are basically in agreement. I empower you to
accomplish our common objectives." Nadelmann's objective, lest we forget,
is to "legalize the personal use of drugs in America." Soros has said he is
"comfortable with that." He must be, because he is paying for such efforts
- including giving grants to Berkeley's marijuana lobby, Californians for
Compassionate Use.

One wonders how "comfortable" all the proponents of the loosely drawn
Proposition 215 are with that. Under 215 - which now looks to be in trouble
in light of last week's Supreme Court ruling - "any illness for which
marijuana provides relief" is fair game, whether it be a headache or a
hangnail.

The city of Berkeley looks set to follow Oakland's lead and become a
marijuana-safe zone, under the guise of Proposition 215, despite the
volumes of scientific evidence suggesting smoked marijuana may do more harm
than good.

Bay Area officials should be wary of being "progressive" on this issue. By
allowing smoked marijuana, they not only do something the courts are ruling
illegal, but something wholly unscientific and ultimately inhumane.