Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2005 The Register-Guard
Contact:  http://www.registerguard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362
Cited: The Institute of Medicine report 
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/marimed/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Raich (Gonzales v. Raich )

It's Up to Congress:

RECLASSIFY MARIJUANA AS A SCHEDULE II DRUG

The medicinal value of marijuana wouldn't be an issue if it weren't
for the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which assigned marijuana a
Schedule I designation. The indefensible classification put marijuana
alongside heroin and hallucinogens as a dangerous and addictive drug
with no accepted medical use.

The Schedule I listing played a key role in Monday's 6-3 Supreme Court
decision that federal law trumps state law when it comes to marijuana.
But the court was appropriately troubled by the decision's effect on
medical marijuana patients. Writing for the majority, Justice John
Paul Stevens noted that the solution could be found when "the voices
of voters" are "heard in the halls of Congress."

Unfortunately, Congress is all but deaf when voters' voices mention
marijuana. That's why voters in 11 states, including Oregon, used the
more responsive state initiative process to give sick people access to
medical marijuana.

Monday's ruling makes it clear that without corrective action by
Congress, the federal government can arrest and prosecute Americans
for using a medicine that has been legally prescribed by a doctor
under state law. The decision is a victory for the Bush
administration, which views state medical marijuana laws as a threat
to long-standing national drug policy.

Solid scientific data confirming the medicinal value of marijuana
would be an even greater threat to the draconian federal pot policy.
There's a reason for the dearth of independent research on the
subject: The government controls the only legal supply of marijuana
available for research. The administration isn't much interested in
providing scientists with the means to debunk its absolutist position
on pot.

That makes marijuana as medicine vulnerable to a Catch-22 criticism
from opponents.

"To date, science and research have not determined that smoking
marijuana is safe or effective," John Walters, director of National
Drug Control Policy, said Monday.

Walters conveniently ignores the formal studies that have been done
and the anecdotal reports of hundreds of thousands of medical
marijuana patients, all of which leave little doubt of the drug's
medicinal value. Marijuana has been shown to relieve nausea, appetite
loss, muscle spasms, seizures and chronic pain. It has long been known
to reduce the intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma, the
leading cause of blindness in the United States.

A more legitimate criticism was raised by the Institute of Medicine in
its seminal 1999 report. "Smoked marijuana," the institute noted, "is
a crude THC (marijuana's active ingredient) delivery system that also
delivers harmful substances." Marijuana smoke contains up to four
times as much tar as tobacco, as well as many of the other harmful
components of tobacco smoke. The institute's report stated flatly,
"There is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved
medication."

Apart from the serious health issues, smoking pot medicinally will
always be seen by opponents as a cover for recreational users, a
dangerously contradictory message for children and a Trojan horse for
legalization of marijuana. Medical marijuana advocates' interests are
best served by the development of safe alternatives to smoking.

One such alternative is the synthetic THC pill Marinol, but many
patients say the pill takes effect too slowly and has side effects
that aren't present in smoked marijuana.

A more promising alternative is Sativex, a natural liquid marijuana
extract developed by a British company that is sprayed into the mouth.
The prescription sale of Sativex was approved in Canada on April 19.

But don't expect to see Sativex at your local pharmacy anytime soon.
It's the Schedule 1, felony thing. Given the political climate, Food
and Drug Administration testing and approval of Sativex is about as
likely as an FDA ban on tobacco products.

The real solution is, ironically, contained in a 1988 ruling by the
Drug Enforcement Administration's own chief administrative law judge:
Move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II. Such a designation
would continue strict control but also would enable doctors to legally
prescribe marijuana, just as they do with the Schedule II drugs
morphine and cocaine. It would open the doors to widespread research
and development of safe alternatives to smoking. The DEA's brass
rejected the ruling out of hand. A court upheld their decision
following a challenge in 1994.

Congress has the power to reschedule marijuana through legislation. If
lawmakers would listen to the voices of the voters, they'd realize
that rescheduling isn't legalization or even decriminalization. It's
just compassion and common sense. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake