Pubdate: Wed, 08 Jun 2005
Source: Enterprise, The (MA)
Copyright: 2005 The Enterprise
Contact:  http://enterprise.southofboston.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3231
Cited: Gonzales v. Raich ( www.angeljustice.org/ )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Raich (Angel Raich)

MARIJUANA NOT YET READY FOR MEDICINE BOX

It's no surprise that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that people
can be arrested for using marijuana as a medicinal drug. But the
reaction from the community that wants to legalize the drug --
claiming sick people would be dragged off to prison -- is nothing more
than propaganda designed to paint the government as cruel and heartless.

In fact, the court's 6-3 ruling will not change anything. It gives
federal agents the power to arrest people who grow or sell marijuana,
even those who use it at a doctor's direction, but that won't happen.
A Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman said the government has
"never targeted the sick and dying, but rather criminals engaged in
drug trafficking." The attorney general of California, where the court
case originated, said patients have nothing to fear.

What the ruling does is reinforce the federal government's ability to
stop drug abuse that has, in some ways, been protected by state laws.
The 10 states that allow the use of medical marijuana make little
distinction between sick people who say they need the drug to ease
their pain and people growing and selling the drug without oversight.

Many people properly use marijuana under these laws, but many also use
the law as a loophole to traffic in marijuana for recreational use.
The Supreme Court ruling addresses that illegal use more than anything.

It is still unclear whether marijuana has a place in the medicine
cabinet. There is growing anecdotal evidence that it is effective in
treating pain for some very sick people. But it needs to be treated as
a controlled substance, strictly regulated by the government and the
Food and Drug Administration -- not grown in someone's back yard and
passed on to patients.

Advocates of marijuana for medical use need to work with the
government in bringing marijuana in line with other controlled
substances if they want it to be taken seriously as an alternative to
other medications.

Even Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the majority opinion
overriding the state's medical marijuana laws, said he was not passing
judgment on the effectiveness of the medical benefits of marijuana
use. But the 85-year-old cancer survivor was ever wary, writing, "No
small number of unscrupulous people will make use of the California
exemptions to serve their commercial ends whenever it is feasible to
do so." In other words, legislators on the state and federal levels
have significant hurdles to jump before they can expect to get
sweeping approval for the medical use of marijuana. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake