TOWARD MORE HUMANE POLICIES FOR THE USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The New York Times carried this news: "The New Jersey Legislature
approved a measure on Monday that would make the state the 14th in the
nation, but one of the few on the East Coast, to legalize the use of
marijuana to help patients with chronic illnesses.

The measure - which would allow patients diagnosed with severe
illnesses like cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease, muscular dystrophy
and multiple sclerosis to have access to marijuana grown and
distributed through state-monitored dispensaries - was passed by the
General Assembly and State Senate on the final day of the legislative
session. Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said he would sign it into law before
leaving office next Tuesday. Supporters said that within nine months,
patients with a prescription for marijuana from their doctors should
be able to obtain it at one of six locations."

There probably is little chance that the Pennsylvania state
Legislature will legalize medicinal marijuana any time soon. A bill to
do so, introduced last year by Rep. Mark Cohen of Philadelphia, had
just half a dozen cosponsors and it was not at the top of the
legislative agenda.

It's a delicate subject, one fraught with emotion that clouds facts,
and even fair-minded people are divided about its merits. Yet, a
recent Health and Human Services Committee hearing on the bill was a
remarkable event in this conservative state, and a step toward a
rational policy for medicinal marijuana use.

Testimony during the hearing did much to dispel myths about medicinal
marijuana and to establish a framework for legalization.

Mr. Cohen's bill would preclude the arrest of patients who use
medicinal marijuana. Those people would have to have a written
doctor's recommendation to use the drug and would have to obtain an ID
card to obtain the drug from state-licensed centers. Patients would be
allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana at any time.

Marijuana historically has been used to help cancer patients deal with
pain and to stimulate their appetite. It also has been used to treat
glaucoma. A great advantage of the drug is that it is far less
expensive than many of the federally approved pharmaceuticals that are
marketed for the same purposes.

Several witnesses and some lawmakers objected that legal marijuana use
could lead to addiction to harder drugs. But Edward Pane, an
instructor in addiction studies at the University of Scranton and CEO
of Serento Gardens Alcoholism and Drug Services Inc. in Hazleton,
testified that patients who use small amounts of marijuana face no
threat of craving harder drugs.

"Concerns that the medical use of marijuana will spur individuals into
the world of chemical addiction are baseless," he said.

Howard Swidler, M.D., chief of emergency medicine at Warren Hospital,
went further.

"Marijuana is non-addicting," he said. "There is no physical
dependence or physical withdrawal associated with its use. It is, from
a practical standpoint, non-toxic. Marijuana is safer by some measures
than any other drug. There is simply no known quantity of marijuana
capable of killing a person."

The recent hearing was a valuable step in that direction because it
established a tone for debate rooted in science and realistic analysis
of the likely social impact, rather than on emotion and obsolete
myths. Mr. Cohen should continue to press the issue. We urge skeptics
and others to keep an open mind for evaluating the evidence, including
the following irony:

Marinol, or synthetic, smokeless THC - the pill form of medical
marijuana - has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, and is legal to be prescribed by physicians in
Pennsylvania and elsewhere.