POT PLAN IS FOR DOPES

The proposition that marijuana can alleviate pain and nausea sounds
appealing on a humanitarian level. Presenting it as a states-rights issue
may intrigue legal minds. And a public-relations campaign that employs
Willie Nelson as a front man could fire up country-music lovers.

But it's all one big smokescreen put up by those who just want to puff pot.

After more than three decades of pushing pseudo-science, proponents of
"medical marijuana" have arrived at Capitol Hill. Reefer madness, in the
form of House Bill 2087, seeks to change federal drug laws to allow pot to
be dispensed by prescription.

The pot initiative is flawed, disingenuous and dangerous on several counts.

. Medical marijuana is not widely medically supported. The American
Medical Association strongly opposes legalization, medicinal or otherwise.

. Marijuana is not "nontoxic." Cannabis contains high levels of tar and
other not-so-healthy ingredients found in tobacco. Marijuana smokers who
have never smoked a cigarette have contracted lung cancer.

. Pot is a gateway drug. You may find a pot smoker who hasn't graduated to
crack...yet, but you won't find many cocaine or heroin addicts who haven't
done weed.

. Pot causes accidents. Police reports are replete with accounts of stoned
motorists or equipment operators responsible for industrial and traffic
accidents. That's surely a bonanza for trial lawyers, but bad news for
everyone else.

. Pot impairs learning. Studies have shown cognitive impairment among
marijuana users, even weeks after use. Remember, it's called "dope" for a
reason.

. Pot exacerbates illnesses. Mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia, have
been shown to worsen under the influence of marijuana.

. There are safe and effective substitutes. Patients who claim a medical
need for marijuana's active ingredient, THC, can get legally dispensed
prescriptions for Marinol. Nearly 20 other safe and thoroughly tested
pharmaceuticals are available to treat the ill-effects that pot is said to
alleviate.

"How can you be in favor of smoking anything?" asks Rep. Dave Weldon, a
physician. "Why anyone would want to introduce another mind-altering,
addictive, carcinogenic substance into society is beyond me."

The Melbourne Republican, whose district includes Indian River County, says
he has never encountered a doctor who felt the need to prescribe marijuana.
"This isn't like the 1960s and the early days of chemotherapy. There are
dozens of drugs on the market that work and work effectively."

But logic and science get lost in the haze at NORML (they don't spell it
out, so I will: National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws). They
may have traded in their Volkswagens and Grateful Dead albums for BMWs and
Willie Nelson, but they still resent the fact that they can be busted for
smoking or selling grass.

And that's what this all comes down to. Beyond the hyped-up claims of
medical necessity, the real agenda is to make marijuana more widely
accessible for the general population -- as if our hip-hop society needs
more mind-numbing substances on the open market.

Amid relentless lobbying and behind-the-scenes funding from the likes of
liberal financier George Soros, 11 states -- mostly on the Left Coast --
are now in the "medical" pot distribution business. This might excite
libertarians and phony federalists, but it does nothing to promote public
safety. Indeed, stripping federal drug statutes opens the barn door to more
narcotic mischief and moves this country one step closer to wholesale
legalization.

Anyone who doesn't think that's the ultimate objective is smoking something.