MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND ITS WITLESS ENEMIES

Anti-Drug Advocates Continue to Ignore Credible Science

Modern cancer treatments have saved countless lives, but they can be a
cruelly mixed blessing. Chemotherapy, often indispensable in curing
cancer, sometimes is enough to make you ill, causing violent nausea
and vomiting.

Luckily, there is a well-established and safe remedy recommended by
many cancer physicians that sometimes provides relief when nothing
else can. Not so luckily, the remedy is marijuana. Under federal law,
cannabis is forbidden--even for therapeutic use by seriously ill
people who have no more interest in getting high than they do in
bungee jumping. The Bush administration, in its generosity, is willing
to let these patients have any medicine except the one they need.

In the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, John Kerry
and John Edwards often sound nearly indistinguishable on the issues.
But when it comes to medical marijuana, there is plenty of space
between them. Edwards sounds like President Bush, while Kerry has
dared to suggest that the established federal policy has been a grave
mistake.

Under the Carter administration, the federal government recognized the
medical potential of cannabis and set up a "compassionate use program"
that not only allowed some patients to use pot but gave them a supply.
This humane concession, however, didn't survive the first Bush
administration, which slammed the door on new patients.

Anyone expecting better from Bill Clinton, that child of the '60s, was
doomed to disappointment. The president who didn't inhale made sure no
Republican could portray him as soft on drugs. His administration
refused to change federal policy and vehemently crusaded against state
measures legalizing medical marijuana.

The current Bush administration has been equally horrified by the idea
that marijuana could be anything but evil. Not long after the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when you might have thought the Justice
Department had more urgent priorities, federal agents continued
raiding "cannabis clubs" that furnish pot to patients whose doctors
have prescribed it, in accordance with state law.

As if it weren't enough to dictate what goes into patients' mouths,
U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft also took it upon himself to dictate
what could come out of doctors' mouths: The administration made it
illegal for physicians to prescribe or even discuss marijuana with
their patients as a treatment.

But the administration's campaign has lately run off the rails. Last
year, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the policy was
unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court let that decision stand. Then,
the same appeals court ordered an end to the prosecution of California
cannabis club patients and suppliers.

The court ruled that the matter was a state concern beyond the
legitimate reach of the federal government. Conservatives, who have
often applauded the Supreme Court's decisions reinvigorating the power
of states against the encroachments of Washington, were surprised to
find that the same doctrine could be used to corral a conservative
administration.

But that hasn't stopped the president's lieutenants from pursuing
their vendetta. Andrea Barthwell, deputy director of the White House
Office on National Drug Control Policy, denounced the 9th Circuit's
reasoning. "There is no scientific evidence that qualifies smoked
marijuana to be called medicine," she declared.

Her opinion rejects the view of many medical professionals, including
those at the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, which has
called for rescinding the federal ban. It also ignores a 1999 report
by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences, a
federal body, which recognized "the potential therapeutic value of
cannabinoid drugs for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and
appetite stimulation."

It's true that there may be safer and better ways to ingest the drug
than by smoking it. But anyone who believes that should favor
extensive federal research into alternative systems--something that
has not been of great interest to the Bush administration.

The next administration might be better, or it might not. John Edwards
has rejected marijuana as medicine while endorsing the federal raids
on cannabis clubs. John Kerry, however, supports federal legislation
allowing the medical use of marijuana with a doctor's approval. Asked
last year if he would halt the Drug Enforcement Administration raids,
he didn't give one of those long-winded answers that Edwards has
mocked. His reply was a model of brevity: "Yes."

On this issue, Kerry is in perfect step with public opinion. Ten
states have legalized medical marijuana, and more than 30 have passed
resolutions in favor of it. Polls indicate that the great majority of
Americans think cannabis should be available for whatever medical
value it has.

But Bush and Edwards want to continue a vindictive policy that ignores
the experience of medical professionals, shortchanges science and
treats suffering people as criminals.

It's enough to make you ill.