FEDS MAKE RIGHT CALL ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

There's a way to be compassionate to patients who would benefit from
medical marijuana without providing a loophole allowing others to get
high. At last, the federal government is making this
distinction.

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder instructed federal prosecutors
not to go after people who use marijuana for relief of pain and other
symptoms in the 14 states where medicinal use is permitted. His memo
reverses longstanding federal policy and marks a step toward
separating those who could be helped by marijuana's therapeutic
properties from those who criminally distribute or use it.

Medical science is gathering evidence that ingredients in marijuana
can ease chronic pain, help some cancer patients and control chronic
nausea, vomiting and glaucoma. The once skeptical American Medical
Association supports research into marijuana's medical benefits and
backs efforts to develop a smoke-free inhaled delivery system.

Public opinion also is changing, including in Texas, where any
marijuana use is illegal. A 2004 statewide poll indicated that 75
percent favored allowing patients to use marijuana medicinally if
their doctor approved.

The Justice Department's new stance makes certain that federal
prosecutors are able to continue pursuing sham enterprises that
distribute marijuana under the pretext of helping patients. Marijuana
is the single largest source of income for Mexico's violent drug
cartels, whose mayhem has destroyed lives on both sides of the border.
Federal and state officials need to retain the authority to sever the
tentacles of the global drug trade, but that can be accomplished
without barring seriously ill patients from a potential source of relief.

Some states have done a better job than others in regulating medical
marijuana. For example, California has no state regulation or standard
for the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana, which has
increased the challenges for law enforcement officials. Other states,
such as Rhode Island and New Mexico, formally license medical
marijuana providers, a wiser way to balance the law enforcement and
medical priorities.

Fly-by-night dispensaries can be controlled if states properly set up
regulated distribution rules. Some states even provide ID cards so
police officers can determine who uses marijuana for medical reasons.

Next session, the Texas Legislature should move to approve the limited
and controlled medical use of marijuana to allow suffering patients to
legally access this alternative treatment. It's right, and it's
compassionate.These states allow the medicinal use of marijuana:

Alaska

California

Colorado

Hawaii

Maine

Maryland

Michigan

Montana

Nevada

New Mexico

Oregon

Rhode Island

Vermont

Washington