I-148 OFFERS COMPASSIONATE EXEMPTION

The war on drugs was never intended to target people like Teresa
Michalski. This Helena woman acknowledges that she allowed her adult
son, who was dying of cancer, to smoke marijuana in her home.
Marijuana eased the severe nausea of his chemotherapy and helped calm
his anxiety over knowing he would not see his young son grow up. But
all the while, his mother worried that her son could be arrested or
that they could lose their home because marijuana is illegal.

Michalski has been an outspoken supporter of Initiative 148, a
proposal to allow limited use of medical marijuana in Montana. In the
past few months, we've heard from other Montanans who see I-148 as a
compassionate law that would allow seriously ill and dying patients
the option of using marijuana.

Doctors As Gatekeepers

The initiative says that an ounce of marijuana could be possessed
legally by a person who meets these criteria: has "a debilitating
medical condition," receives a Montana medical doctor's permission to
use marijuana and obtains a medical marijuana registration card from
the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Only a minority of people suffering "debilitating medical conditions"
as defined by the initiative would qualify for medical marijuana.
Among AIDS patients, for example, the majority don't experience
treatment side effects of nausea and loss of appetite and some who do
can have those symptoms managed with other medications available by
legal prescription. Before the state could issue a medical marijuana
card, a licensed MD, would have to sign a statement saying that "the
potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely
outweigh the health risks for the qualifying patient."

Weighing Risks, Benefits

Marijuana does present health risks. It can be addictive and marijuana
smoke contains carcinogens. Marijuana is no more appropriate for the
general population than chemotherapy or antiviral AIDS drugs are
appropriate for healthy people. Marijuana should remain a controlled
substance. Its use should remain illegal - with the tightly limited
exception of a severely or chronically ill patient whose own medical
doctor agrees potential benefits of marijuana outweigh its risks in
that particular case.

Some opponents of medical marijuana argue that it's unnecessary
because an active ingredient has been synthesized in a prescription
pill called Marinol. Marinol can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,300 a
month, depending on the dosage. Some medical research indicates that
inhaling marijuana chemicals is more effective than swallowing them in
a pill.

What's really needed is more research nationally on the medicinal uses
of marijuana. All cancer patients and other people suffering from
life-threatening diseases or the severe side effects of medical
treatment deserve good options for safely and effectively managing
their pain.

Meanwhile, I-148 is a compassionate stopgap. It offers a relatively
small group of seriously ill or dying patients another option to ease
their suffering.