Pubdate: Wed, 02 Jun 2004
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Copyright: 2004 Independent Media Institute
Contact:  http://www.alternet.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1451
Author: Steve Fox
Note: Steve Fox is director of government relations for the Marijuana 
Policy Project in Washington, D.C.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

AN ANNIVERSARY THAT CALLS FOR ACTION

One year ago, on June 4, 2003, something remarkable happened in a 
California courtroom: A judge who could have sentenced the defendant in 
front of him to 40 years in federal prison instead heeded the pleas of the 
jurors who had convicted the man, who said that their own verdict was 
wrong. The judge let the man walk free, sentenced only to time already 
served, and a tragic injustice was averted.

Still, Ed Rosenthal -- who was simply obeying the laws of his state and 
trying to help sick people -- left that courthouse a convicted felon. 
Congress must make sure that such an injustice never happens again.

Eight states allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana legally, 
and in a matter of days Vermont will become the ninth. These laws have 
given a measure of comfort to tens of thousands of patients battling 
cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other horrific illnesses. But the 
federal government refuses to accept these laws and continues to wage a 
bizarre and cruel war on the sick.

Federal agents have stormed into homes and businesses, arresting sick 
people and their caregivers. In one particularly grotesque raid, Drug 
Enforcement Administration agents pointed automatic rifles at the head of 
Suzanne Pfeil, paralyzed from the after -- effects of polio, demanding that 
she stand -- and when she couldn't, they handcuffed her to her bed.

Congress will soon have an opportunity to stop this madness by passing what 
is called the Hinchey/Rohrabacher amendment. This measure, to be introduced 
by a New York Democrat and a conservative California Republican during 
consideration of the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill, would 
prevent the federal government from interfering with state medical 
marijuana laws. It would end the DEA's raids on medical marijuana patients 
and caregivers following state law. It would not prevent the DEA from 
arresting individuals who are involved in marijuana-related activities 
unconnected to medical use.

Last year, 152 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted for this 
sensible, humane proposal -- an impressive start, but not nearly good 
enough. It will take 66 more votes for the House to pass this amendment.

Those votes shouldn't be hard to come by, since a huge majority of 
Americans supports medical marijuana. According to a Time/CNN poll taken in 
October 2002, 80 percent of the American people "think adults should be 
able to use marijuana legally for medical purposes." The public understands 
that it is cruel and pointless to criminalize people battling terrible 
illnesses for trying to relieve some of their suffering.

Support for protecting medical marijuana patients continues to grow in 
America's public health community. At its 2003 annual meeting, the 2.6 
million member American Nurses Association adopted a resolution supporting 
medical marijuana, calling for "legislation to remove criminal penalties 
including arrest and imprisonment for bona fide patients." Other groups 
taking a similar stand in recent months include the American Academy of HIV 
Medicine and the Rhode Island Medical Society, as well as the United 
Methodist Church.

These groups join an impressive list of organizations supporting legal 
access to medical marijuana for seriously ill patients, including the 
American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health 
Association and the New England Journal of Medicine.

The federal government has been consistently hostile to medical marijuana, 
yet a federally funded study concluded that marijuana is an effective 
medicine. According to the 1999 National Academy of Sciences' Institute of 
Medicine's report, Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, 
"Nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, 
and all can be mitigated by marijuana."

The experts and the public agree: It makes no sense to subject people 
fighting for their lives to arrest and jail just because they and their 
doctor find that medical marijuana provides relief when standard medicines 
fail. It is time for Congress to stop this madness, now.
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MAP posted-by: Beth