Pubdate: 10 Sep 2000 Source: Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (WA) Website: http://www.zwire.com/news/newslist.cfm?brd=1017 Address: P.O. Box 1358, Walla Walla, WA 99362 Contact: 2002 Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Fax: (800)423-5617 WAR ON DRUGS SHOULDN'T INCLUDE MEDICAL MARIJUANA The federal government's war on drugs is an enormous and expensive endeavor. And drug enforcement officials continue to ask Congress for more and more money to curb the nation's illegal drug problem. Why then is the Clinton administration wasting precious resources trying to keep medicinal marijuana away from cancer and AIDS patients? That's the question all taxpayers ought to be asking. For example, let's look at the current crusade of the Justice Department to undermine California's voter-approved law that allows marijuana to be used for medical purposes. The four-year legal tussle made its way to the Supreme Court recently as the high court barred distribution of marijuana by a private clinic. But the issue of whether states have the power to allow marijuana for medical use is far from resolved. California is just one of the states in which voters have approved medical-marijuana laws. Washington and Oregon are two of the seven states that have laws similar to California's. The federal government is just as eager to quash Washington's and Oregon's laws, but have yet to find the right case to challenge them. But the Justice Department continues to look - seemingly with no regard for what it is costing taxpayers. It is absurd. Medical marijuana has absolutely nothing to do with this country's serious problem with illegal drug use. It's about - or, at least, it should be about - providing relief from pain and nausea just like any other medication. The federal government now regulates dangerous and addictive narcotics such as codeine and morphine for pain control with few problems. The scientific evidence isn't conclusive on the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but there is strong anecdotal evidence that suggests it has medical benefits. It is so convincing that voters in seven states have legalized marijuana as medicine. The patchwork of laws has created an enforcement nightmare, which is why the Justice Department has been working to put the kibosh on the voter-approved laws. The effort will fail. The public correctly sees this solely as a medical issue and will continue to support state efforts to allow marijuana as medicine. States have the power to establish drug laws and likely also have the power to allow marijuana for medical purposes. That's why federal efforts to usurp state laws have focused on sanctioning doctors who prescribe marijuana. The courts, of course, will ultimately decide whether the federal government can supercede these state laws. Meanwhile, the waste will continue. It is time federal officials got in step. Marijuana used as medicine should be regulated at the federal level just like thousands of other drugs dispensed by a doctor's prescription. And then the drug-war money that would have been used to fight the state laws could be used to combat real problems.