IT'S ABOUT TIME

The Obama administration has taken another step toward common sense
with its directive that chronically ill patients using marijuana to
ease their pain be left alone by federal agents in the states where it
is legal.

"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute
patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying
with state laws on medical marijuana," Attorney General Eric H. Holder
Jr. announced Monday.

That will be a welcome relief to all those who have found relief in
marijuana recommended by a doctor to reduce the chronic pain, nausea
and other symptoms associated with cancer and other serious illnesses.

And it may hasten states, including New Jersey, to join the ranks of
the 14 states where such prescriptions are legal. The state Senate
passed a medical-marijuana bill in February, while a modified version
cleared the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee in June and
has moved to the full Assembly for a vote. Gov. Jon Corzine has said
he would sign the bill if the Legislature approves it; both Republican
Chris Christie and Independent Chris Daggett, Corzine's rivals in the
Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, have said they support medical
marijuana use with adequate restrictions.

The federal policy shift is in marked contrast to the Bush
administration's insistence on enforcing federal drug laws even when
they were contradicted by state laws which permitted the dispensation
and use of medical marijuana.

At the same time, Holder has vowed that the change in position does
not signal a federal reluctance to prosecute "drug traffickers who
hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities
that are clearly illegal."

It seems a little fuzzy, but it's definitely an improvement over the
previous policy which designated marijuana as a Schedule I drug,
meaning it had no accepted medical use in the United States and was
unsafe for use even when prescribed by a doctor. It's one more example
of the Bush-era ideology trespassing on science.

Medical experts have testified for years about pot's effectiveness as
a palliative. In cases where other drugs fail or fall short, it can
ease pain and anxiety, restore appetite and diminish nausea. What's
more, it can accomplish this more economically and with fewer side
effects than conventional medication.

New Jersey legislators, poised to vote on the issue, may be encouraged
by the federal change of heart. It reflects the opinion of a majority
of Americans -- and 82 percent of N.J. residents -- who favor
dispensing marijuana to patients.

With the new federal policy in place, there is no reason for New
Jersey to any longer delay legalizing medical marijuana.