IT'S CONGRESS' CALL ON MARIJUANA

The Supreme Court properly deferred to Congress Monday with its ruling that
there is no medical exception to the law classifying marijuana as an
illegal drug.

Though Colorado voters passed an initiative last year allowing medical use,
the court's decision makes clear state law confers no immunity from federal
prosecution.

The court ruled 8-0 against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative in
California.

"It is clear from the text of the (Controlled Substances) Act," Justice
Clarence Thomas wrote, "that Congress has made a determination that
marijuana has no medical benefits worthy of an exception.

"Unwilling to view this omission as an accident, and unable in any event to
override a legislative determination manifest in a statue, we reject the
cooperative's argument."

The court respected Congress' right to decide on medical marijuana; whether
Congress made the right decision is another matter. Advocates of medical
use argue that marijuana is effective in cases where nothing else works;
opponents say that hasn't been demonstrated scientifically. Nine states so
far have decided that patients should be able to make that decision for
themselves.

Whatever the merits of the case for or against the medical use of
marijuana, the place for that issue to be argued is not the courts of the
land, but Congress. Let members of the Senate and House consider whether
they wish to allow exceptions in addition to the one Congress earlier
permitted: use in government-approved research projects.