FOLLOW THE SCIENCE ON MEDICINAL POT

Since 1996, nine states, including Washington, have passed citizen
initiatives allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The feds, whether it was the Clinton administration or the current one,
have fought back, using a law passed in 1970 as its hammer. That law placed
marijuana on the most-restricted list of illegal drugs, and it didn't
provide for medical exceptions.

In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled that "cannabis clubs" that had formed in
California for the purpose of acquiring and supplying medical marijuana
were violating the federal law.

Not satisfied with that, the feds targeted provisions in state laws that
call for doctors' prescriptions before marijuana could be dispensed. They
threatened to pull the drug-prescribing licenses of doctors who discussed
marijuana with patients.

In 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals called that a First Amendment
violation, and this week the Supreme Court declined to take the case,
leaving that ruling in place.

So, we are left with a muddle. Doctors can recommend marijuana, but
acquiring it is illegal. The feds can't possibly enforce the law. There are
far more patients who want pot than there are agents to bust them. And
because medical marijuana is illegal, researchers have no incentive to
pursue better cannabis-laden drugs.

It's at this point that society should ask: Who should make the call, here?
States acting on the latest scientific evidence? Or, federal politicians
and agents backed by a law that is based on outdated information?

Marijuana wasn't always a drug that turned on the counterculture and turned
off the establishment. In the early 20th century, it was used as a pain
reliever. But then along came aspirin, which did the job better, leaving
pot to those who enjoyed its hallucinatory effects.

Since then, marijuana has been demonized in such over-the-top productions
as "Reefer Madness" and pounced upon by lawmakers fighting the culture wars.

When Congress adopted the 1970 law, there was little evidence of the
medicinal value, and society was rightly concerned about the explosion of
drug use among youths. Marijuana was also a powerful symbol in the culture
wars, permeating the ranks of hippies and war protesters.

All of that has kept it underground, despite a growing body of evidence
that it has medicinal value. In 2000, the Institute of Medicine published a
comprehensive review of medical marijuana research and came to the
conclusion that cannabis has its merits. The institute urged more research
and the development of more effective cannabis-laden drugs. One promising
avenue is an inhaler, which would eliminate the need for smoking, which is
a crude delivery system.

Congress needs to intercede and pass a new law that incorporates the latest
science. These aren't whacked-out hippies who want marijuana. They are the
sickest of the sick, and they are desperate for relief. Neither they nor
their doctors should be treated as criminals.