IT'S TIME TO PASS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

To hear some Republican legislators talk, Minnesota might as well
start putting heroin in milk and open a methadone clinic on every
street corner. A new law in the Legislature has created quite a
little rhetoric by some politicians who worry that legalizing
marijuana for medical use would throw open the door to drugs.

Really, Minnesota would join 12 other states in making medical
marijuana legal. What that means is that those with a marijuana card
would be held immune from state prosecution for possession or use of
the drug, while the federal authorities could, if they chose, still
prosecute those who possess marijuana, a violation of federal drug law.

A slim majority of Senate lawmakers have chosen common sense over
rhetoric and done the right thing by passing a medical marijuana
bill. Our two local senators, Sharon Erickson Ropes and Steve Murphy,
both voted in favor of the humane law.

As we live longer, we are faced with more terminal diseases that take
life one miserable piece at a time rather than suddenly. That means
that palliative care - or managing pain - is going to become more and
more essential in our society. Marijuana for medical purposes has
that kind of potential.

For those who argue that marijuana's prevalence in our society will
only result in more children and adults becoming addicted, we've got
news for you: Marijuana is already commonplace in our communities.
Medical marijuana's impact on the streets of Minnesota will most
likely be negligible because those who need it aren't doing it for a
high; it's not an illicit drug to them. It's something to be used,
like a prescription or aspirin - something to make them feel better.

For too long, opponents of the medical marijuana debate have confused
it with the War on Drugs. But medical marijuana has nothing to do
with illicit drug use. This is about using the drug for palliative
care. It's no different than prescription pain killers that can be
and often are abused.

It seems unfair - even cruel - to ban marijuana from those who might
use it to have a life that's more pain free just because of the
potential for abuse by a few. We must think of the good that will be
served by those who will use it for legitimate medical purposes and
prosecute those who obtain it illegally.

We hope the Minnesota House will follow suit and pass a similar bill.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has threatened to veto this bill because he
believes it will make it harder for law enforcement officers to do their jobs.

While we don't think a police officer's job should be any harder, we
also trust their professional judgment to determine the difference
between illicit use and medical use. We wish the governor would give
the law enforcement community a little more credit. And we wish the
governor would support legislation that would help demonstrate that
compassionate and conservative are more than just words in a party slogan.

We hope that someday the need for medical marijuana will end. That
would mean that medical science has eliminated chronic, painful and
debilitating diseases. But that day isn't here now. For now, there's
compassion and maybe soon, there'll be medical marijuana in Minnesota.

The Winona Daily News editorial board also includes publisher Rusty
Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson. To comment, call
453-3522 or send e-mail to letters@winonadailynews.com.