U.S. FLUNKS ON POT

IT PROBABLY COMES as no surprise the United States Supreme Court ruled
against the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative in its case arguing for
the medicinal use of marijuana. Before Monday's ruling, legal analysts
suggested the cooperative's best chance might have been under the rubric of
state's rights.

Although the court usually favors state's rights, when it came to allowing
seriously ill people to use marijuana for medical purposes, it decided
federal law rules. It rejected the cooperative's argument that marijuana
should be exempted from the federal ban on the substance for reasons of
medical necessity.

Washington has not provided much enlightened leadership on this issue. In
1998, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 311 to 94 to condemn medical
marijuana. Earlier this year, advocates testifying in favor of the
medicinal uses of the drug were called everything except the devil himself.

With the hysterical rhetoric against medical marijuana, it's easy to forget
the federal government recognized it for 14 years. Between 1978 and 1992,
based on the medical necessity argument, some patients were allowed to use
medical marijuana under the Investigational New Drug compassionate access
program. The program was discontinued because of the dramatic increase in
applications from AIDS patients.

There's a twist. As the number of sick people in need of the substance
increased, the government decided to eliminate their ability to get it.
That's compassion for you. I can't help but think the insensitivity was
related to the disease and lifestyle of so many of the new applicants.

Of course, nothing about the government's attitude toward medicinal
marijuana makes sense. In response to a petition to remove marijuana from
the Schedule I classification of drugs, the most dangerous and addictive
drugs, the Drug Enforcement Administration's chief administrative law judge
ruled: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest
therapeutically active substances known. . . . It would be unreasonable,
arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those
sufferers and the benefits of this substance."

The DEA simply ignored the ruling and continues to classify marijuana as a
Schedule I drug.

If Washington remains obtuse on medical marijuana, the rest of the country
is beginning to take a new look at the issue. California is one of eight
states with laws allowing the growing and possession of marijuana for
medical use; 12 states have medical marijuana research laws. A 1999 Gallup
poll found that 73 percent of Americans were in favor of allowing doctors
to prescribe marijuana to reduce pain and suffering.

In fairness, I shouldn't attribute the narrow-mindedness to Washington,
D.C. -- residents there actually approved a medical marijuana initiative
with a 69 percent vote. It was nullified by Congress, which has oversight
over the city.

It is the politicians and in this case Supreme Court judges who are obtuse.
They are not likely to make decisions on the merits of the issue as long as
it is highly politicized. Very few politicians are willing to stand up and
support a common-sense approach and risk being labeled soft on drugs.

In fact, that political dynamic keeps the federal government from adopting
a more sensible anti-drug policy overall. Numerous studies have documented
the war on drugs has been a tremendously costly failure that has led to the
incarceration of hundreds of thousands of nonviolent offenders for drug
violations. Everything points to a reassessment that treats drug addiction
as an illness rather than a crime.

However, President George W. Bush's appointment last week of John Walters
as drug czar is a disheartening step backwards. Walters is known as a
hard-liner favoring a get-tough approach. Incredibly, he has even suggested
there are too many treatment facilities.

The Walters appointment and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against medical
marijuana indicate the federal leadership is increasingly out of step with
the majority of Americans. We probably won't get an effective federal drug
policy until they realize the political tide has turned.

Brenda Payton's column appears on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.