MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE IN MORGAN HILL

Let's Be Reasonable

Inanimate objects are not inherently good or evil; what matters is how
they're used.

That statement is so patently obvious that it seems silly to utter it.
But bear with me.

Take, for example, the automobile. There's no such thing as an evil
automobile or a good automobile; what matters is how an automobile is
used.

An automobile can be used for good. It can deliver children to school,
patients to doctors, workers to employment, the hungry to food. The
manufacture, maintenance, repair and sale of automobiles creates jobs.

An automobile can be used for evil. Inattentive or impaired drivers
cause property damage, injury and death. Terrorists use automobiles to
deliver bombs that kill scores of people at a time. Our nation's
dependence on foreign oil, caused in part by our love of automobiles,
feeds terrorism. Dangerous climate changes are caused in part by
emissions from our beloved vehicles.

Clearly, inanimate objects are not inherently good or evil; what
matters is how they're used. It follows that marijuana is not
inherently good or evil; what matters is how it's used.

The federal government's Controlled Substances Act, enacted in 1970,
lists marijuana on Schedule I, the most restricted category. The law
says that any substance classified as Schedule I has high potential
for abuse, no currently accepted medical use, and no standards for
safe use under medical supervision.

Despite ample evidence contradicting all of these assertions about
marijuana, it remains a Schedule I controlled substance.

Despite the ease with which one could make cases that tobacco and
alcohol fit the Controlled Substances Act's Schedule I criteria, they
remain legal.

The federal government is hypocritical and inconsistent about the
substances it controls for recreational and medical use.

But let's put aside the issue of whether or not marijuana should be
available for recreational use like cigarettes and alcohol, and
instead focus on the much more narrow issue of the medical use of marijuana.

Numerous studies demonstrate that marijuana is a safe, effective drug
for many symptoms and conditions. The American Public Health
Association says that marijuana treats nausea and vomiting associated
with chemotherapy, reduces eye pressure in glaucoma patients,
alleviates the wasting syndrome associated with AIDS, reduces chronic
pain and more.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has been
trying since 1972 to convince the federal government to move marijuana
to Schedule II so that doctors can prescribe it. It has refused for 25
long years.

Eleven states are so frustrated by the federal government's
intransigence on this issue that voters or legislatures passed laws
allowing the medical use of marijuana. This includes California, where
voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996. Gov. Bill Richardson is about
to make it an even dozen states, promising to sign a bill legalizing
medical marijuana in New Mexico.

Now Morgan Hill faces this issue because of a proposal to open a
medical marijuana dispensary in town.

City Council imposed a 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana
dispensaries so it can study the issue. Officials are concerned about
reports that medical marijuana dispensaries are associated with crimes
like burglary and loitering by drug dealers and people under the
influence of controlled substances.

A short moratorium is fair enough. This is a new kind of business for
Morgan Hill. Let's see if the reports are true, and if so, what
mitigations might be necessary. (Reporter Tony Burchyns interviewed a
councilman from the city of Santa Cruz, which has opened two medical
marijuana dispensaries in the last 18 months, who reported no problems.)

But I hope, as we research these reports and debate this proposal,
that we don't repeat the federal government's hypocrisy and
inconsistency. Instead, let's hold medical marijuana dispensaries to
the same standards to which we hold other businesses.

Retail stores are associated with shoplifting. Pharmacies distribute
controlled substances from OxyContin to Vicodin to Ritalin. Bars and
liquor stores sell alcohol, the major factor, along with motor
vehicles, in drunk driving. Morgan Hill has numerous retailers,
pharmacies, motor vehicle dealerships, wineries, bars and liquor stores.

Above all, let's remember that no inanimate object, including
marijuana, is inherently good or evil. What matters is how it's used.

I'm hard pressed to find a use that better defines good than relieving
the suffering of sick people. Denying them that relief? It comes
awfully close to evil.