MEDICINAL MARIJUANA?

(U-WIRE) COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Last month, a bill that would lessen the
penalties on chronically ill patients using marijuana as a pain reliever
was introduced to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee of the Texas House
of Representatives. A bill that partially decriminalizes the medical use of
marijuana in Texas is long overdue.

The medicinal use of marijuana has been proven to sufficiently combat the
effects of terminal illnesses while reducing side effects and requiring
fewer prescriptions.

"Under current law, patients may not be acquitted for marijuana possession
in Texas courts even if they can show they have cancer, marijuana reduces
their nausea and vomiting, and they are using marijuana with their doctors'
approval," said Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that
helps states form practical medical marijuana laws.

"If enacted, this bill will allow Texas courts to make a distinction
between the medical use of marijuana and the recreational use of marijuana."

The idea behind this bill is that no one has the right to deny the
chronically ill any type of effective medication, regardless of the social
stigma surrounding it.

Similar laws have already proven beneficial in California and Oregon,
states traditionally more liberal than Texas.

Marijuana has been written off for too long as the drug of choice for
stoners. When assessing its worth, critics often fail to acknowledge its
many positive, pain-relieving qualities.

The new bill would not officially legalize possession or consumption of
marijuana. Instead, it would provide a legitimate defense in court for
those using the drug under a doctor's recommendation.

Although this is a step in the right direction, the bill would not fully
shield the ill Texans from their own government. Unlike current laws in
eight other states, the new bill would not protect doctor-approved
marijuana users from arrest if discovered.

"If this bill passes, seriously ill people will still be arrested in Texas
for using medical marijuana, but they would then at least have a fighting
chance in court to explain their medical need," Thomas said.

Currently, state legislation is the only way to legalize the medical use of
marijuana; federal law still prohibits it.

If the bill fails to pass, the terminally ill of Texas who rely on
marijuana for medical treatment must continue to do so in secret.

Ideally, the new bill will lead to further legislation to loosen
restrictions on marijuana's use in Texas, a state whose drug policy is
generally very conservative. "People have long dismissed Texas as a
wasteland of ignorance and intolerance," said Rick Day, the Texas state
coordinator of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Legislation. "With this bill, the Legislature shows great clarity,
compassion and maturity in addressing this medical issue."

Day vows to rally support for the bill.

"Texas NORML ... supports this first step in ending the 80-year war against
responsible Texas consumers of cannabis. We ... urge fence-sitting
legislators to ask themselves one question: 'Am I for, or against, cancer
patients?'"