MEDICAL POT QUAGMIRE

Former Arkansas Congressman Asa Hutchinson, the nation's new drug czar,
struck exactly the right tone earlier this week on the issue of medical
marijuana.

Hutchinson, sworn in as the new head of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, said his agency will take some time to develop an
enforcement strategy for dealing with nine states, including Colorado, that
allow the use of medical marijuana.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court held that there is no medical
exemption to the federal controlled substances act, which prohibits the
possession, use and distribution of marijuana.

Colorado joined the other states with medical marijuana laws last fall when
voters approved a ballot initiative authorizing the program. The Supreme
Court decision raises the question of what will happen when a user of the
drug in Colorado or one of the other states is charged with a drug offense
under federal law.

Hutchinson took note of the court decision and said currently the medical
use of marijuana "violates federal law." He added that he has yet to see
any research that suggests the drug has any "legitimate medical use," but
his office will continue to monitor any scientific or medical studies on
the subject.

Reading between the lines of Hutchinson's comments, it seems likely that
there will soon be a federal case filed to determine if there is any way in
which a state may operate a medical marijuana program without subjecting
its participants to federal drug prosecutions.

The federal government really has only two ways to respond to the present
situation in which states operate programs that plainly violate federal
law. It can either enforce the federal statute or it can change it. The
latter possibility seem utterly out of the question, since Congress has
shown no interest in revising its statute. That means this is a question
that is again headed for the courts. Because there is value in having laws
that are clear and consistent, we think it can't happen soon enough.