MARIJUANA AND CONGRESS

According to John Walters, director of this nation's Drug Control
Policy, there is no scientific proof that marijuana is a safe or
effective drug suitable for medical purposes.

That just isn't true.

As the Supreme Court noted in an opinion this week, many studies
clearly show that marijuana -- even in its crude form -- controls
severe pain in people with chronic disease, calms nausea and
stimulates appetite in cancer patients as they undergo debilitating
chemotherapy and radiation therapies, and eases the anxiety in
patients told there is nothing the medical profession can do to save
their lives.

The data, gathered over a period of many years in controlled tests
and by talking to and examining countless patients who have been
using medicinal marijuana, is conclusive. It is a safe and suitable
alternative to other far more addictive drugs -- such as cocaine and
morphine -- both of which -- unlike marijuana -- can be legally
prescribed in all 50 states. Marijuana is defined by federal law as a
drug having a high potential for abuse and with no currently accepted
medical use. In 11 states, proponents of medical marijuana have
fought successfully to change that definition. Yet a 6 to 3 Supreme
Court decision this week says federal law trumps state law; federal
law does not permit growing, selling or using marijuana under any
circumstances. Patients using physician-prescribed marijuana in the
11 states in which it is legal can be arrested and prosecuted under
the federal Controlled Substances Act just as easily as back alley
joint-smoking teens. Justice John Paul Stevens says their decision is
meant to curtail "unscrupulous physicians" who would oversubscribe
the drug for profit -- illogical reasoning when one considers the
other legal drugs from which "unscrupulous physicians" can profit.

As damning as it seems to suffering patients who depend on marijuana
for relief, however, Stevens has some sound advice.

The reclassification of marijuana is better sought at the federal
level through Congress, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-4th) hopes to be
that conduit.

For the 10th straight year, he has filed legislation that would allow
doctors to prescribe marijuana just as they prescribe other drugs.

He says the legislation doesn't have enough support for a hearing,
let along passage this year, but there are signs that will change.
"We're getting there," he said. In the meantime, the House of
Representatives considers an appropriations amendment this week that
prohibits the Justice Department from using money to enforce federal
drug laws against patients using physician-prescribed marijuana. The
Supreme Court's decision, while defensible on constitutional grounds,
is a setback for those whose suffering could be relieved by medical
marijuana. But the courts aren't the place to win their battle.

Polls show up to 75 percent of Americans support legalizing medical
marijuana.

It's time Congress heard from them.