Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jan 2006
Source: Eagle-Tribune, The (MA)
Copyright: 2006 The Eagle-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.eagletribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/129
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

POT BILL NEEDS CAREFUL REVIEW

Though approving the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has
become something of a fad among legislatures nationally, those on
Beacon Hill should approach the issue with great caution.

Law enforcement professionals, including Essex County District
Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, are convinced that use of the drug is a
gateway that can lead to experimentation with more powerful narcotics.

We've heard the arguments that marijuana is no more harmful or
addictive than alcohol, and that it is the only drug capable of
providing relief from the pain caused by certain ailments and
counteracting the nausea caused by radiation and  chemotherapy. And
the current bill, co-sponsored by state Rep. Barbara L'Italien,
D-Andover, hardly amounts to legalization. Access to the drug could
be obtained only with a doctor's prescription. Yet federal law still
outlaws the use of marijuana for any purpose, and a U.S. Supreme Court
ruling last year held that the federal prohibition takes precedence
over more lenient state laws. Besides the legal trap the pending bill
might create, there are also concerns over the fact it would allow not
only the  consumption, but the cultivation, of marijuana plants with a
doctor's OK. There are many potent pain and anti-nausea medications
currently on the shelf that cannot be consumed without a prescription.
But none of them, so far as we  know, can legally be produced at home.

Similarly, marijuana, if made legal for medicinal use, should be
supplied by a pharmacist, not harvested from one's backyard garden. We
agree with Rep. Doug Petersen, D-Marblehead, who's still undecided on
the issue, that if marijuana is made available, "it should be totally
controlled."

Like Petersen, we have not detected any groundswell for legalization
of the drug for any purpose. Nor have we seen any conclusive evidence
that it's the only substance capable of relieving pain or nausea in
certain circumstances. Given the variety of medicines out there, it's
hard to believe there's not something already available via
prescription that would work equally well. The recent action by the
Rhode Island Legislature allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to
their patients is believed to have prompted a fresh push  to pass a
similar bill here. In our view, that alone is hardly a good reason for
Massachusetts to take the same precarious step toward loosening the
prohibition against marijuana use.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake