Pubdate: Wed, 8 Jun 2005
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Copyright: 2005 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Contact: http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/encryptmail.pl?ID=CFF0C5E4
Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/83
Author: Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Action: http://hinchey.mpp.org/
Action: http://capwiz.com/norml2/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7309441
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org
Cited: Gonzales v. Raich http://www.angeljustice.org
Cited: Oregon Medical Marijuana Program http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ommp/
Cited: "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition" 
http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/mironreport.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Raich (Angel Raich)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Milton+Friedman

FALLOUT OF MARIJUANA VERDICT

This Week's High-Court Ruling Nudges Legislators into the Thick Of
Medical-Use Debate.

ASHLAND, ORE. - The US Supreme Court's decision this week asserting
federal control over marijuana used for medical purposes would seem to
bring that controversial practice to a halt. Uncle Sam - not the
states - has the last word here, the court ruled.

But the 6-to-3 ruling may have raised more questions than it answered
- - and not just in the 10 states where medical marijuana has been
legally used to treat the pain and nausea of certain illnesses.

For example, will the federal Controlled Substances Act now be
enforced more rigorously?

Advocates on both sides of the issue say they do not expect to see US
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents breaking down the doors
and ripping up the plants of medical-marijuana users, especially if
state and local cops - not obliged to help federal agencies prosecute
people following state law - don't take part. Just a tiny fraction of
the 750,000 pot busts made each year in the US are by DEA agents.

Will the ruling curb the number of states that allow medical
marijuana? (The 10 that do are California, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii,
Washington, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Maine.)

Polls show most Americans support medicinal use, including those
opposed to general legalization of the drug.

For example, in a poll conducted last December for the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 72 percent of respondents aged
45 or older agreed that "adults should be allowed to legally use
marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it."

This can be seen as part of the general public belief that individuals
- - not government - should be in charge of their medical care,
including end-of-life care as was at issue in the Terri Schiavo case.

That support is behind the push in several states to legalize the use
of medical marijuana, provided a physician recommends it. The
Connecticut Senate, for one, is considering a bill that would license
medical doctors to certify the use of marijuana for certain
debilitating conditions; patients would be allowed to grow up to four
plants for personal use.

This week's court decision puts added pressure on Congress to deal
with the issue. In writing the court's majority opinion, Associate
Justice John Paul Stevens "stressed the need for medical marijuana
patients to use the democratic process, putting the ball in Congress's
court," says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy
Project in Washington, D.C.

"This is especially important now because next week, the US House of
Representatives will vote on an amendment that would prevent the
federal government from spending funds to interfere with state
medical-marijuana laws," says Mr. Kampia, whose organization provided
major funding for the case brought by two California women.

Another question raised by this week's ruling: What lies ahead for
Oregon's unique physician-assisted suicide law? The US Justice
Department says that law also violates the Controlled Substances Act,
and the Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case this fall.

This week's decision also affects a broader debate on the drug. Some
advocates had seen medicinal use as a vehicle for building support for
marijuana legalization. The Bush administration firmly opposes such a
move, and few lawmakers see political advantage in the debate.

But a report out last week estimates that replacing marijuana
prohibition with a taxation and regulation system - as exists for
alcohol - would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between
$10 billion and $14 billion per year.

The report, by Jeffrey Miron, visiting professor of economics at
Harvard University, has been endorsed by more than 500 economists,
including well-known conservative Milton Friedman of the Hoover
Institution at Stanford University.

In an open letter to President Bush, Congress, governors, and state
legislatures, the economists call for "an open and honest debate," one
they believe "will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but
taxed and regulated like other goods." Such a discussion "will force
advocates of current policy to show that prohibition has benefits
sufficient to justify the cost to taxpayers, foregone tax revenues,
and numerous ancillary consequences that result from marijuana
prohibition."

Still, there's no doubt that this week's ruling is affecting - at
least for now - existing state programs and the more than 100,000
people they serve.

Oregon, for example, is temporarily halting issuance of
medical-marijuana registration cards.

"We need to proceed cautiously until we understand the ramifications
of this ruling," says state public health officer Grant Higginson, a
physician who oversees the state's medical-marijuana program. "We have
contacted the state attorney general to ask for a formal legal opinion."

While advocates of such programs view the ruling as a temporary
setback, those who oppose them are encouraged.

Calvina Fay, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation in
St. Petersburg, Fla., calls it "an important victory for sound drug
policy." Ms. Fay contends that many people falsely claim some medical
problem in order to obtain the drug for recreational use.

Several medical organizations have advocated the use of marijuana for
medical purposes. But the administration remains adamantly opposed,
and it recently launched a new antimarijuana publicity campaign.

"Our national medical system relies on proven scientific research, not
popular opinion," says White House drug czar John Walters. "To date,
science and research have not determined that smoking a crude plant is
safe or effective."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake