MEDICAL MARIJUANA: SHOULD IT BE LEGAL

(Editor's note: The Supreme Court ruled Monday that doctors can be
blocked from prescribing marijuana for patients in perpetual pain.)

YES: SICK PEOPLE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO SUFFER

Contrary to what some will be saying about the U.S. Supreme Court's
6-3 ruling on medical marijuana, this narrow technical ruling does not
invalidate medical marijuana laws now in effect in 10 states.

Neither does it invalidate local ordinances allowing medical
marijuana, including Madison's ordinance, or those passed in 2004 by
Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich., and Columbia, Mo.

States without current medical marijuana laws are still free to enact
them. While federal authorities retain the power to target patients
and providers, 99 of 100 marijuana arrests are made at the local and
state level. Rather than using this court ruling as an excuse not to
move forward with legislation that would protect patients from arrest
and jail, state lawmakers should redouble their efforts.

In the majority ruling, Justice John Paul Stevens, pointed to Congress
as a means of settling this dispute. Since it passed the Controlled
Substances Act in 1970, wrongly classing marijuana as a drug with no
medical use, Congress has had numerous opportunities to rectify its
error, including the States' Right to Medical Marijuana Act
reintroduced in May 2005.

That bill (HR 2087) has 36 cosponsors, including Rep. Tammy Baldwin,
D-Madison. In each previous session this bill has been introduced it
has died in committee without a hearing or a single vote. Lately,
George Bush has been saying his nominations "deserve a simple straight
up and down vote" in Congress. Medical marijuana legislation deserves
the same, both in Congress and at the state level.

This ruling is certainly not the end of the discussion. For those of
us who need medical marijuana, it is never over. Sadly, this decision
will prevent patients from using medical cannabis. Caregivers and
survivors will suffer the most after a loved one has died, wondering
if marijuana might have helped had they had legal access.

For myself, a lifelong glaucoma sufferer with other health problems,
this ruling means justice denied. Thirty-three years ago, a medical
exam confirmed marijuana was beneficial in treating my glaucoma.
Twenty-six years ago June 4, another doctor wrote a note stating he
would prescribe it for me if he were legally able to do so. Today, big
government is still standing in the way.

A petition to reschedule marijuana for medical use is now before the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Prior versions of this
petition have been unfairly rejected and federal bureaucrats continue
to impede the petition's progress. Approval of this petition would
allow physicians to prescribe cannabis like any other medicine.

Meanwhile, since the Supreme Court justices have apparently punted the
ball to Congress, citizens must now make their support known and
continue to do so until Congress does the right thing. Rather than
waiting for accident or illness to strike them or a loved one - and
finding out the only medicine that can help is illegal - please let
Congress know this issue needs to be resolved.