MARIJUANA RX: LEGALIZE POT TO TREAT CANCER, AIDS

Let's start with the sensible bottom line from the latest government-
sponsored report on marijuana: It says pot ought to be legally available,
under medical supervision, for use against the intractable pain, nausea and
weight loss suffered by many AIDS and cancer patients.

The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine found convincing
evidence of marijuana's palliative effects, and recommended it in such cases
despite its "potential for dependence" and the distinct possibility that its
smoke is itself carcinogenic. Sometimes, the institute concluded, nothing
else works nearly as well, especially when immediate relief is needed.

The institute's carefully nuanced document ought to end the arguments over
the principle of using marijuana to treat the sick. Someone who is deathly
ill shouldn't be denied relief just because a drug's use for that legitimate
purpose might conceivably encourage its abuse by someone else. After all, we
don't treat controlled drugs like morphine and Valium as we do cocaine and
heroin.

But don't expect the arguing to stop. Advocates for legalizing marijuana
will point to its benign effects in a narrow range of cases and press for
self-medication on demand. Resisters will suggest that prescribing it to
relieve nausea in chemotherapy is tantamount to lighting up a joint for a
12-year-old.

The institute is worried enough about the toxicity of marijuana smoke to
urge more research on how to deliver its active ingredient, THC, and related
cannabinoids to patients without "burning plant material and contaminants."
There's one prescription capsule on the market now, but the future may lie
with patches and inhalers. Meanwhile, a last-resort treatment for patients
won't create a gateway drug for teenagers.