THE MARIJUANA RULING

It is inhumane to deny the seriously ill use of marijuana to ease
their suffering. That's why 10 states, including Maine and Vermont,
have legalized medical marijuana, and Rhode Island is mulling doing
so. Unfortunately, though, on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 to
3 that federal drug-law supersedes state law, so suffering people
seeking relief through marijuana may be prosecuted.

A government that would prosecute ill citizens harming no one --
especially when so many pressing problems need attention -- is
committing an injustice.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has ruled that if state drug laws
superseded federal law, efforts to control drugs would become
ineffective. And John Waters, director of the National Drug Control
Policy, says that marijuana use has yet to be proven safe or effective.

The ruling is another blow to our federal system -- and the rights of
states to establish criminal law through legislators chosen by local
voters. "The states' core police powers," wrote dissenting Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor, "have always included authority to define
criminal law and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their
citizens." She was joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and
Justice Clarence Thomas.

Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said that
medical-marijuana laws make it hard for the federal government to
control production and use of the plant; he cited the federal
authority to regulate interstate commerce. But, as Justice Thomas
noted, the seriously ill women who brought the case use marijuana that
they have grown: Never having crossed state lines, it does not affect
the national marijuana market.

"If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause," warned Mr.
Thomas, "then it can regulate virtually anything -- and the federal
government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers."

Among our system's great virtues is the states' power to act as
"laboratories": testing whether various approaches to social policy
work. For example, some states can see whether medical-marijuana laws
pose a genuine threat to public health, while other states can hold
firm against use of the plant. The Supreme Court's ruling erodes our
Founders' system.

Fortunately for users of medical marijuana, federal prosecution of
marijuana cases is rare. Usually, the state and local police hold sway
- -- and they follow state law. Thus, in practice, state
medical-marijuana laws can still protect sick people who wish to
relieve pain with marijuana -- as long as the Feds don't get involved.

No sick person should be treated as a criminal for attempting to
reduce suffering.

Although it seems unlikely at the the moment, we urge Congress to
enact a national law letting doctors prescribe marijuana.

And while we're at it, we also urge reappraisal of the endlessly
expensive, in economic and social terms, "war on drugs."