FOLLOW VA LEAD ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The just-announced decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to
permit patients treated at its medical facilities to use medical
marijuana will surely raise hopes of Massachusetts advocates for a
shift in state policy.

The VA approval will be inapplicable in any state where medical
marijuana use is not yet legal. Fourteen states are covered.
Massachusetts has decriminalized possession of one ounce or less of
pot, but medical use of the substance remains illegal.

House bill 2160 begs for action. It would make a narrow exception to
state law to allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana
with their doctors' OK. The public health department would issue
special ID cards; a patient or caregiver with an ID card and no more
than 4 ounces and 12 plants would not be subject to arrest, as long as
he or she is in compliance with the law. The ID cards could be revoked
for any violation. There's room for compromise on the amounts allowed,
but compassion for people whose symptoms could be alleviated by
marijuana dictates that the bill be passed in form.

Last week's shift in VA policy results from a long campaign by
veterans and is fresh evidence of how the political winds have been
shifting on marijuana. Still, Massachusetts lags behind -
inexplicably, where relief from pain and chemotherapy side-effects is
concerned.

The dormant legislation here is based closely on Rhode Island's
medical marijuana law, which legislators voted to make permanent in
2007 by more than 4 to 1. Last year, R.I. lawmakers voted to provide
for non-profit compassion centers that can dispense medical marijuana
to registered patients.

The Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance is pushing for bill 2160.
The public is in favor. Last September, Suffolk University released
results of a poll showing that 81 percent of Massachusetts residents
support allowing "seriously ill patients to use, grow, and purchase
marijuana for medical purposes if they have the approval of their
physicians." It found strong support in every demographic, according
to the MPAA, including 86 percent of senior citizens and 70 percent of
Republicans. Mirroring local support are results of an ABC
News/Washington Post nationwide poll released in January, showing that
81 percent support access. "By creating a directive on medical
marijuana," Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for
Medical Marijuana Access, told the New York Times, "the V.A. ensures
that throughout its vast hospital network, it will be well understood
that legal medical marijuana use will not be the basis for the denial
of services."

Massachusetts should weigh this new directive in re-assessing bill
2160. It contains restrictions, including prohibitions on public use
of marijuana and driving under the influence. Employers would not be
required to allow patients to be impaired at work or possess marijuana
at a workplace.

Without the bill's passage, we will continue to relegate some sufferers to
breaking the law in search of relief.