AN OVERDUE POLICY

Veterans Affairs Wisely Relaxes Its Objections to Medical Marijuana Use

A growing number of Americans have embraced the legalization of
marijuana for medicinal purposes as a compassionate way to help those
who are suffering from AIDS, cancer and other debilitating diseases.
There was evidence of that in January when New Jersey became the 14th
state to approve the use of medical marijuana, joining a list that
includes Nevada. There was even more evidence that month when an ABC
News/Washington Post poll was released showing that 81 percent of
Americans support marijuana legalization for medicinal purposes, up
from 69 percent in 1997.

Despite this trend, the federal government has stubbornly maintained a
position that all marijuana possession should remain illegal, even
when it could help an AIDS patient regain his appetite or alleviate
the pain of a person with nerve damage. Preventing someone who is
short on medical options from trying to attain a certain level of
comfort simply makes no sense and represents flawed public policy.

Thankfully, at least one federal agency is seeing the light. As
reported July 24 by The New York Times, the Veterans Affairs
Department is beginning to allow its patients to use medical marijuana
in Nevada and the other states where it is legal. This move was long
overdue.

Before this announcement, VA patients in those states were placed in
the untenable position of having to choose between continuing to
receive their prescription pain medication or using medical marijuana.
They were not given the option of using both simultaneously because
under VA rules, a person who gets caught using medical marijuana could
be denied pain medication.

As Dr. Robert Jesse, deputy undersecretary for health in the veterans
department, told the Times: "We didn't want patients who were legally
using marijuana to be administratively denied access to pain
management programs."

This new policy represents the right thing to do. Many VA patients,
especially those who have been wounded in combat, have paid a terrible
price for their service to this country. We owe it to them to make
sure they are given access to all possible resources to improve their
health.

Veterans can now rest assured that the physicians they see through the
VA won't try to undercut them simply because they are exercising their
legal right to use medical marijuana. This will not only build trust
between patients and doctors, but it also could encourage medical
marijuana users who have stopped going to the agency's medical
facilities to return for treatment.

What veterans deserve is reassurance that the VA will be there for
them in their time of need. The new medical marijuana policy will help
achieve that goal.