YES, 'COMPASSIONATE USE'

A growing number of state lawmakers are joining the effort to give
relief to the very ill through legalized medial marijuana. Already 14
states allow restricted medical use of the drug. It's not hard to see
why. Increasing evidence shows that judicious use of pot is an
effective treatment for patients suffering from such illnesses as
AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis, while evidence that the substance
puts users on a pathway to harder drugs remains sketchy, at best.

That's at least one of the reasons why a growing sector of the medical
community wants to be able to prescribe marijuana to patients who need
it. In a letter to the editor Friday, a Moline doctor offered solid,
medical reasons for making prescriptions available to patients for
whom it may be effective. Indeed, Dr. Margaret S. J. Millar and other
proponents, say that marijuana is in some cases better than other
dangerous prescription medication routinely legally supplied to patients.

"I recently lost a patient to accidental painkiller overdose," she
wrote. "Medical cannabis can provide necessary relief for patients in
pain without the chance of the patient, in extreme pain, accidently
overdosing and dying. It is also heartbreaking to hear from patients
that the medicine I prescribed to combat their pain either doesn't
work or causes side effects worse than the pain."

Doctors with similar stories were no doubt dismayed when they
discovered two bills that would legalize the substance for medical use
had died in the Iowa Legislature this year. In truth, however, they
have merely been delayed. On Wednesday, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy
voted unanimously to recommend to state lawmakers that they reclassify
marijuana and set up a task force to study how to administer a medical
marijuana program. The board is the first in the nation to take such a
stance, which illustrates the growing support in the medical community
for legalizing medicinal use. Its decision does not have the force of
law, but it should make lawmakers stand up and take notice and it
offers fresh proof that it is not potheads seeking a high who are
behind the medical marijuana effort.

The board of pharmacists and citizens have been studying the issue for
more than a year, including holding four public hearings on medical
marijuana around the state of Iowa. They also did not ignore the fact
that legalization poses challenges, including control of dosages,
potential for abuse and challenges in its distribution. But its action
suggests that the benefits of medical use appear to outweigh the risks.

Lloyd Jessen, the board's executive director, stressed that the vote
is merely a recommendation and he couldn't predict what action the
legislature or the governor would take. The board's intention, he
stressed, was to help people who have tried without luck other methods
of alleviating symptoms from such diseases as cystic fibrosis, AIDS
and terminal cancer. "It's a compassionate use program," he said.
"It's intended for people who have tried everything else." That is,
indeed, a compassionate first step.

Proponents of marijuana legalization say that the Board of Pharmacy
holds the authority to make medical marijuana available under
administrative rule. It has consistently failed to do so, dumping the
matter back in the legislature's lap. Critics say the panel has
hesitated to take such action because of federal opposition. Those
strictures may be easing. One sign is an Obama administration order
telling U.S. attorneys not to pursue prosecution of medical marijuana
arrests for growers and suppliers who are following the law in states
where medicinal pot is legal.

They may have helped lead to the panel's non-binding recommendation.
The vote also followed on the heels of a Des Moines Register poll
which said 64 percent of Iowans favor medical marijuana in the state.
Both however are just two more steps in a long march. Even legislative
proponents are warning that the issue is a tough one politically that
could take years to resolve. There's nothing compassionate about that
for the terminal cancer patient who needs relief today and has been
unable to find it anywhere else. They should, in conjunction with
their doctor, have access to all reasonable means of relief.

That won't happen, however, so long as decision-makers continue to
view their role as physician and drug enforcement agent. We have
plenty of both; enough to handle the challenge of a reasonable medical
marijuana program. It's time for lawmakers in states like Iowa and
Illinois to let them do their jobs.