MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Regarding Tom Daubert's Oct. 30 op-ed, while there have been studies
showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana
is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to
a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps them feel
better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality
of life issue best left to patients and their doctors.

Federal bureaucrats waging war on noncorporate drugs contend that
organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. The federal
government's prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is
handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach
suggests that drug warriors are not well-suited to dictate health care
decisions.

It's long past time that Congress showed some leadership on the issue
and passed legislation reaffirming the Constitution's Tenth Amendment
guarantee of states rights. States that prefer to cage sick patients
for daring to feel better can continue to do so. The more enlightened
states that have passed compassionate-use legislation should not be
stymied by a federal government that really should have better things
to do.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy,

Washington, DC