A BAD IDEA

Next month, Maine voters will be asked to approve a proposal to allow
persons with certain illnesses to grow and use small amounts of marijuana
for treatment, as long as such use is approved by a doctor.

We'll be voting against the measure.

Proponents of the citizens' initiative contend it is nothing more than an
effort to provide a measure of relief to patients suffering from cancer,
AIDS, glaucoma and certain other illnesses. But if that truly is the case,
we believe there are better ways to approach the problem.

The medical use of marijuana has been the subject of considerable debate in
recent years. Its supporters point to a study conducted by experts at the
Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, which
found that the active ingredients in marijuana appear to be useful for
treating pain, nausea and weight loss associated with certain illnesses.
But the study's authors also said the true benefits of the drug would be
realized only when alternative methods - capsules, patches and bronchial
inhalers - are developed to deliver the active components to the body
without the harmful effects of the toxic smoke.

One cannabinoid-based drug has been on the market since 1985, when the Food
and Drug Administration approved its use for nausea and vomiting associated
with chemotherapy and for anorexia and weight loss associated with AIDS.
Backers of the Maine proposal claim that homegrown marijuana would be less
expensive and faster-acting than the commercial product.

Perhaps so, but we are not convinced that marijuana ought to be regarded
differently than any other medication requiring a doctoris prescription. At
this point, the medical community remains divided over marijuanais
effectiveness as medication. Under federal laws, doctors cannot legally
prescribe it. The Maine proposal avoids that issue by requiring only that a
physician advise the patient that marijuana use may be beneficial as a
treatment. Armed with proof of such advice, the patient could then grow up
to six marijuana plants, no more than three of which may be producing
usable marijuana at any given time.

The potential for abuse of such a law is obvious. Marijuana, though
illegal, easily can be obtained by those who want it. Just ask any police
officer. We doubt that law enforcement officials are looking for an
opportunity to prosecute those who illicitly obtain small amounts of the
drug for use in treating an illness. But looking the other way in such
situations is far different from giving growers a government stamp of
approval.

If marijuana eventually is proven effective in clinical trials for treating
illness, its use should be prescribed by physicians and dispensed in the
same manner as any other controlled substance. Proponents of medical
marijuana ought to mount a concerted effort to make that happen. Meanwhile,
Maine's law governing possession of marijuana should be left alone.