Pubdate: Mon, 08 May 2006
Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
Copyright: 2006 The Hartford Courant
Contact:  http://www.courant.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

THE SICK MAY INHALE

Rhode Island's Department of Health is accepting applications from 
seriously ill patients who wish to use marijuana for medicinal 
purposes. Opponents of such use will now have an opportunity to see 
whether the dire predictions of widespread abuse will come to pass.

If the law, which has a sunset clause of June 2007, leads to bad 
outcomes, it should not be renewed. If the law has flaws, it can be 
amended. But if the sick are shown to benefit from using the 
substance, Connecticut lawmakers will no doubt be interested in 
enacting something similar.

Lest anyone fear that the ranks of marijuana users among the public 
would skyrocket, it should be noted that the substance is legal in 
Rhode Island only for those certified by medical experts to need it. 
A person suffering a debilitating condition - such as cancer, AIDS, 
multiple sclerosis, glaucoma or epilepsy-would have to receive 
permission from doctors and from the state before being allowed to 
possess a maximum of 2.5 ounces of marijuana.

That person, or the certified caregiver, would also be allowed to 
grow as many as 12 marijuana plants.

In general, law enforcement officials oppose medicinal use, and 
health care providers support it as an effective form of relief from 
pain and suffering. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 
reiterated its opposition to medical marijuana therapy. Meanwhile, 
the National Academy of Sciences stands by its 1999 review, which 
found marijuana to be "moderately well-suited for particular 
conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting."

Few on either side want to legalize marijuana for every adult, any 
more than they endorse making other controlled substances available.

Rhode Island is not a pioneer. Ten other states have legalized 
marijuana for medical purposes, eight of them through statewide 
referendums. In the Ocean State, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri's veto of 
the bill was overridden by the legislature.

But all will not be smooth sailing for advocates of medicinal use. 
Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, regardless of state 
laws, the federal government can still prosecute ill people who take 
the substance for medicinal purposes.

The reality is that more than 90 percent of marijuana-related arrests 
across the country are made by state officials.

A carefully written federal law would be better than a state-by-state 
approach, but Congress and the White House are unlikely to support 
the controversial idea any time soon. Until then, the list of states 
legalizing the use of small doses of marijuana for sick patients is 
likely to grow.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom