Pubdate: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 Source: Times Union (Albany, NY) Copyright: 2003 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation Contact: http://www.timesunion.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/452 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/bush.htm (Bush, George) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Conant (Walters v. Conant) MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE The U.S. Supreme Court leaves intact state laws that permit prescription use It never made any sense for the Clinton administration to oppose the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. No sense as far as medicine and compassion for seriously ill patients were concerned, that is. But it was politically advantageous, to be sure. For a White House that had been relentlessly attacked as being too liberal on too many issues, standing firm against medicinal marijuana was a way to show the critics that the administration was tough on drugs. Regrettably, the Bush administration also adopted that position. As a result, people who have AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and other illnesses have had to endure needless suffering because their doctors could not prescribe for them the one medicine that helps to reduce nausea and other discomforts -- marijuana. Now, thankfully, that seems likely to change. On Monday, an enlightened U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn an appeals court ruling that shields doctors who recommend marijuana for medical use from being investigated, threatened or punished by federal regulators. Until now, that threat had been real even in the states that have laws authorizing the use of medical marijuana. That's because the Drug Enforcement Administration, not the states, issues doctors licenses to prescribe drugs. Without that license, a state license to practice medicine is worthless. Regrettably, the Supreme Court did not comment on its decision to uphold the lower court ruling. That deprives the public of some needed guidance on the issue itself. Instead, only the reasoning of the lower court -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit -- is on record. That court found the federal prohibition a violation of doctors' free speech rights and the "principles of federalism." Nine states have laws authorizing the use of medicinal marijuana, and it's time that New York joined them. To argue, as the Clinton and Bush administrations have, that legalizing medical marijuana is just a step away from legalizing all marijuana use is nonsense. Doctors routinely prescribe drugs that are otherwise prohibited for general use -- morphine and cocaine to ease pain, for example. Marijuana also helps to ease suffering. It is cruel to keep it from those who need it most. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens