MEDICAL MARIJUANA: A NATION GONE TO POT?

For a nation that has been waging a decades-long war against drugs without
success, it is difficult to admit that someone might benefit by smoking
marijuana.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to decide whether seriously ill
people who smoke pot under a doctor's care are subject to a federal ban on
marijuana.

Attorney General John Ashcroft strongly opposes the California law that
permits medical use of marijuana, saying it "seriously undermines Congress'
comprehensive scheme for the regulation of dangerous drugs."

There are common drugs prescribed by doctors every day that are far more
dangerous than marijuana.

As we've noted before, the United States has the best hospitals in the
world, the most skilled doctors, the most advanced technology and the most
modern medicines, but its laws governing marijuana are archaic.

Studies by the Institute of Medicine, the American Medical Association, New
England Journal of Medicine and others conclude that marijuana use can
relieve pain and nausea associated with illnesses such as cancer, multiple
sclerosis and AIDS. And, the studies show, marijuana is less toxic than
some of the common prescription drugs that doctors use to treat patients.

The Justice Department asks the court to make no distinction between a
California doctor who prescribes marijuana for a cancer patient and a drug
lord in the jungles of Colombia who grows coca for drug trafficking. Such
thinking may explain why the U.S. government is losing the war on drugs.

A doctor practicing in a state that recognizes that medicinal value of pot
risks a charge of malpractice if he or she doesn't recommend marijuana when
all else has failed.

The Supreme Court will hear the case next winter, but ultimately it is the
function of Congress to change the laws governing marijuana. Federal law
categorizes pot as a "schedule 1" or dangerous drug under the Controlled
Substances Act. At the very least, Congress should amend the law to allow
for the medical use of marijuana.

Some lawmakers might fear that voters will think they are soft on drugs if
they approve such a change.

Such thinking, to borrow a phrase from the cult movie on the dangers of
marijuana, is reefer madness.