DRUG LAWS SEND MIXED MESSAGE

The recent announcement by the Montana Department of Corrections that
parolees can smoke marijuana may have seemed like a drug-induced
phantasm to the more level-headed among us, but it wasn't.

Instead, it was the (hopefully) unintended consequence of the 2004
ballot initiative that legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal
purposes in Montana.

Of course, we argued all along that the 2004 initiative sent a mixed
message about drug use to our citizenry, and this just adds to the
muddle. All drug use, after all, is to some extent medicinal in
purpose; it's just that it is usually self-prescribed instead of at
the recommendation of a doctor.

Nonetheless, society has long considered it prudent to restrict
certain drugs because of their impact on society as a whole. You
can't really justify saying that marijuana is harmful in general but
helpful in the specific, since each use of it is specific. Many good
people have been arrested for using marijuana who represented no
personal threat to society or anyone else, but they were nonetheless
guilty of crimes and so convicted.

Even today, federal laws against marijuana possession or use remain
in effect in Montana, and no exemption is provided for users who have
a "medical marijuana card" in their possession. Just last month,
federal agents arrested a distributor of legal marijuana in
California and he now faces a variety of charges. And several
California counties have been taking action to increase restrictions
on medical marijuana beyond what state law currently allows. This is
clearly not a settled issue.

As for the specifics of the Montana case, we wonder exactly why the
state of Montana should spend money to convict and incarcerate drug
offenders only to watch them get out of prison and use a variety of
excuses (back pain, migraine headaches, you name it) to resume their
drug use LEGALLY. Talk about mixed messages!

In any case, it seems like the Department of Corrections ought to
have fought harder against this by taking the matter to court,
instead of just surrendering to the easiest course of action. After
all, if parole and probation conditions can include standard
restrictions against use of alcohol or against setting foot inside
taverns (both of which are legal otherwise), there ought to be a way
to restrict use of medical marijuana for these folks as well.