MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE HEADED WHERE IT BELONGS

Though there remain additional constitutional issues to resolve, the
U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision handed down Monday, nudged the
medical marijuana debate toward the forum where it belongs: Congress.

The 6-3 decision upholding the right of the federal government to make
the medical use of marijuana illegal disappoints supporters of the
treatment. They had hoped the Constitution's commerce clause would
limit the reach of the federal government in this case.

The court didn't see it that way. It said that the local distribution
of marijuana was a matter of legitimate concern for the federal
government. That still leaves the issues of whether medical marijuana
users are being denied due process or equal protection, constitutional
questions that will now be taken up in lower courts.

Still, for now, using marijuana for medical purposes remains a federal
crime, even in states like Maine where there are laws meant to make
such use legal. What this means is that local law enforcement here
won't be after medical pot users, but federal agents can, in theory,
crack down on the practice.

If doctors and patients agree that using marijuana is a worthwhile
treatment for cancer and other conditions, then there should be a
mechanism to provide the drug to patients legally.

That's where Congress comes in.

State laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana - including
Maine's - are imperfect, often providing inadequate controls on the
production and the distribution of the drug.

Congress, however, has the power work through these problems. It can
see that medical marijuana is studied by the Food and Drug
Administration and distributed in a manner that minimizes its abuse.
Such is the case with a variety of controlled substances, including
morphine and cocaine, which are available through pharmacies.

Frankly, part of the political problem for medical marijuana
supporters has to do with the coalition that has pushed for allowing
marijuana to be used in this way. Some advocates are also supporters
of making pot legal. That's a problem for politicians who don't want
to appear to be soft on a drug that rightly belongs on the
government's list of controlled substances.

One way around this problem of political perception is for Congress to
make medical marijuana legal while simultaneously supporting or even
strengthening the laws that prohibit using pot as a recreational drug.
That way, patients can be helped without lawmakers having to appear
soft on drugs.