PRESCRIPTIONS: CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

To the Editor:

All three branches of the federal government ignore their Constitutionally
mandated limits so frequently that when they step outside the bounds it's
no longer news, and you have to search for coverage among the man-bites-dog
stories to keep track of how individual rights and states rights continue
to be infringed by the feds. Take, for example, the Supreme Court decision
in Ashcroft v. Raich, which was recently announced. You probably didn't see
it on the evening news, so allow me to report on it.

By way of background, ten states have adopted laws permitting doctors to
prescribe medical marijuana for a variety of serious illnesses. For
example, marijuana's ability to reduce intra-ocular pressure has saved many
glaucoma patients from blindness; marijuana can control the painful muscle
spasms associated with spinal cord injury suffered by some disabled
veterans; marijuana can reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea suffered by
cancer victims. Yet, regardless of its proven medical effectiveness (even
the Supremes recognize the "valid therapeutic purposes" of marijuana!), the
court decided, in Ashcroft v. Raich, that the federal Controlled Substances
Act trumps state medical marijuana laws, authorizing federal drug agents to
arrest patients using state sanctioned medical marijuana, even when those
patients are operating within state guidelines. Thus, we have come to the
point where taking a medication on the recommendation of a doctor, for a
legitimate illness, as permitted by state law, is a federal crime. Where
the Feds get the authority to meddle in such matters and to make such
behavior a crime is beyond me, and more importantly, it is beyond the
Constitution. But then, as I indicated at the beginning of this letter, I
guess that's just not news any more.

Cordially, Chuck Esposito

Suches, Ga.