Pubdate: Fri, 24 September 1999 Source: San Luis Obispo County Tribune (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Luis Obispo County Newspapers Contact: P.O. Box 112, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406-0112 Website: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/ STRAIGHT DOPE ON MARIJUANA Sooner or later California and the federal government are going to get it straight. We're talking about the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in San Francisco last week that cannabis clubs in the state (cannabis is the technical term for marijuana) can distribute the stuff as long as they are able to prove that the users can suffer great pain, perhaps serious harm, if they don't use it. The ruling, overturning a lower court decision, flies in the face of federal policy, which holds that marijuana is without medicinal value. This conflict of judgments left everyone confused until an explanation was delivered by Gerald F. Uelman, a law professor at Santa Clara University. Uleman held that the ruling means that "federal law is not an absolute barrier to distribution of marijuana. It requires courts to exercise discretion to look at the circumstances of individual patients and weigh that against the public intrest." At least for now, indications are, mercifully, that Washington will let the Appeals Court ruling stand, federal law notwithstanding. But it's an uneasy situation at best. If the wishes of Californians are to be honored, the medical use of marijuana should be allowed. When the issue was put to a public vote in November 1996 as Proposition 215, it passed by a wide margin. But many citizens, medical authorities and newspapers such as ours, have been uneasy about laws allowing use of marijuana for medical purposes. Prop. 215 may have humanitarian purposes, but our feeling has been that the language is not specific enough and could lead to abuse. On the other hand, there is evidence that sufferers of such diseases as cancer and AIDS can obtain relief if allowed to use marijuana by prescription and under continual doctor vigilance. The time is overdue for the courts and the federal government to come to an understanding. As matters stand, we in California apparently are violating federal policy, and we're doing so with the blessing of a federal court. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D