MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE

The U.S. Supreme Court leaves intact state laws that permit prescription use

It never made any sense for the Clinton administration to oppose the use of
marijuana for medicinal purposes. No sense as far as medicine and
compassion for seriously ill patients were concerned, that is. But it was
politically advantageous, to be sure. For a White House that had been
relentlessly attacked as being too liberal on too many issues, standing
firm against medicinal marijuana was a way to show the critics that the
administration was tough on drugs.

Regrettably, the Bush administration also adopted that position. As a
result, people who have AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and other illnesses have had
to endure needless suffering because their doctors could not prescribe for
them the one medicine that helps to reduce nausea and other discomforts --
marijuana.

Now, thankfully, that seems likely to change. On Monday, an enlightened
U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn an appeals court ruling that shields
doctors who recommend marijuana for medical use from being investigated,
threatened or punished by federal regulators.

Until now, that threat had been real even in the states that have laws
authorizing the use of medical marijuana. That's because the Drug
Enforcement Administration, not the states, issues doctors licenses to
prescribe drugs. Without that license, a state license to practice medicine
is worthless.

Regrettably, the Supreme Court did not comment on its decision to uphold
the lower court ruling. That deprives the public of some needed guidance on
the issue itself. Instead, only the reasoning of the lower court -- the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit -- is on record. That court
found the federal prohibition a violation of doctors' free speech rights
and the "principles of federalism."

Nine states have laws authorizing the use of medicinal marijuana, and it's
time that New York joined them. To argue, as the Clinton and Bush
administrations have, that legalizing medical marijuana is just a step away
from legalizing all marijuana use is nonsense. Doctors routinely prescribe
drugs that are otherwise prohibited for general use -- morphine and cocaine
to ease pain, for example. Marijuana also helps to ease suffering. It is
cruel to keep it from those who need it most.