Pubdate: Sun, 01 Apr 2001
Source: Deseret News (UT)
Copyright: 2001 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Contact:  http://www.desnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/124
Author: Kersten Swinyard, Deseret News Staff Writer

DON'T PROMOTE POT DISTRIBUTION

Supporters of so-called "medical marijuana" have little to go on. They want 
the government to approve the drug despite a lack of any credible science 
and despite a lack of support from the Food and Drug Administration.

Now they want the U.S. Supreme Court to put its stamp of approval on 
buyers' cooperatives that distribute the drug to people in need, arguing 
that a medical necessity ought to outweigh federal laws. Judging by their 
comments at a hearing this week, most of the justices don't appear to buy 
the arguments. We hope that's the case.

Former federal drug czar Barry McCaffrey has called medical marijuana 
"Cheech and Chong medicine." That's an apt description. While we sympathize 
with people who are suffering with terminal illnesses and feel a joint is 
the best way to relieve pain, the buyers' cooperatives are excellent tools 
for distributing the drug for less noble causes, as well. Society has good 
reason to be concerned about that.

So far, nine states have passed medical marijuana laws. Unfortunately, the 
court's ruling, expected sometime in June, will not negate this. The case 
at hand arose out of a Clinton administration lawsuit that specifically 
targets the buyers' clubs. If the court rules against those clubs, people 
in those states still would be free to grow and cultivate marijuana for 
their own use, but at least the distribution method, which has the ability 
to proliferate consumption, will be stopped.

It may be true that marijuana plants contain chemicals with medicinal 
value, but credible science has yet to make that determination or to decide 
on the best method of delivery. We cannot imagine a state approving the 
distribution of any other drug that had not passed scrutiny. And we 
certainly cannot imagine any other drug -- particularly one that was proven 
to cause harm to its users, as marijuana does -- being legally distributed 
by anyone other than a competent physician.

Marijuana is treated differently only because it has the support of a loyal 
and vocal group of recreational and habitual users whose ultimate aim is to 
be able to use their drug free from the fear of prosecution.

We will grant them this: medical science ought to determine whether 
marijuana has any useful medicinal value, and then decide on an effective 
delivery method that keeps users as free as possible from the harmful 
side-effects. But the rush to legalize the smoking of marijuana and 
liberalize its distribution ought to be seen clearly for what it is.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom