Pubdate: Sun, 24 Jun 2001
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 The Province
Contact:  http://www.vancouverprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Randy Cohen, New York Times Syndicate
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

HANDING POT TO HIV PATIENTS ILLEGAL BUT NOT UNETHICAL

Q: I have H.I.V. and use cannabis to alleviate nausea and lack of appetite. 
A friend grows and provides it at no cost. I distribute the remaining 
cannabis to 15 or so other people who either have H.I.V. or are undergoing 
chemotherapy. We all know this is illegal but feel that our lives come 
first. Are we not being ethical?

- -- Anon, Virginia

A: I'm with you: What you are doing may be illegal but it's not unethical. 
Society acknowledges a moral right to break the law in extreme 
circumstances each time a sitcom cop pulls over some hapless guy for 
speeding and asks, "okay, buddy, where's the fire?" The implication: If the 
driver really is racing to extinguish a blaze, exceeding the speed limit is 
acceptable. Similarly, medical necessity can trump marijuana laws. While 
there are sound arguments for law-abiding behavior even when a law is 
ludicrous, in this situation you harm no one while relieving the suffering 
of the gravely ill who have no alternative remedy -- compelling reasons to 
violate the law.

And you needn't worry that you are implicated in the occasional gunplay of 
the marijuana trade; that violence is a consequence of prohibition, not 
pharmacology, and in any case one would expect the not-for-profit, 
grow-your-own network of medical cannabis suppliers to be insulated from 
the excesses of the commercial trade.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision confirmed marijuana's classification 
under federal law as an illegal Schedule I drug with "no currently accepted 
medical use." Although the ruling does not overturn state statutes -- eight 
states have passed medical marijuana initiatives -- it contradicts what 
many patients and doctors believe. Thus, for you to provide cannabis to the 
seriously ill is not just an act of compassion but also an assertion of 
truth, albeit not one a drug enforcement agent would find persuasive.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager