POT DECISION BEST LEFT TO DOCTORS

Regarding Kristofer Karol's Tuesday column, "Give legal marijuana a
chance," while there have been studies showing that marijuana can
shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative
drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing
chemotherapy and it helps the patient feel better, then it's working.
In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life issue best left to
patients and their doctors.

Federal bureaucrats waging war on noncorporate drugs contend that
organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. The federal
government's prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is
handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach
suggests that drug warriors are not well-suited to dictate health-care
decisions.

It's long past time that Congress showed some leadership on the issue
and passed legislation reaffirming the Constitution's 10th Amendment
guarantee of states' rights. States that prefer to cage sick patients
for daring to feel better can continue to do so. The more enlightened
states that have approved compassionate-use legislation should not be
stymied by a federal government that really should have better things
to do.

Robert Sharpe,

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy,

Washington, D.C.