Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jun 2005
Source: Star-Ledger (NJ)
Copyright: 2005 Newark Morning Ledger Co
Contact:  http://www.nj.com/starledger/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/424
Author: Angela Stewart, Star-Ledger Staff
Cited: The Coalition for Medicine Marijuana - New Jersey http://www.cmmnj.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Jim+Miller
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Raich (Angel Raich)

TOP U.S. COURT: MEDICINAL 'POT' REMAINS ILLEGAL

Federal Authority Trumps State Laws

Even as New Jersey lawmakers ponder whether to allow doctors to
prescribe marijuana to their sickest patients, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled yesterday that federal authorities still have the power to
prosecute people who smoke pot on doctor's orders.

The 6-3 decision, based on the case of two seriously ill California
women, is seen as a major blow to marijuana advocates, who say the
drug -- although illegal -- has significant medical benefit for
patients suffering everything from chronic pain to cancer and AIDS.

"We are very disappointed with the Supreme Court ruling ... We simply
want it to be available for patients who are suffering without it,"
said Ken Wolski, CEO of The Coalition for Medicine Marijuana -- New
Jersey.

White House officials, by contrast, couldn't have been more pleased
with the decision.

"Today's decision marks the end of medical marijuana as a political
issue," said Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman for the White House Drug
Policy Office. "Smoking marijuana makes people feel better. It doesn't
mean it's medicine."

Jim Miller of Toms River, whose wife, Cheryl, died two years ago
today, would disagree. Miller said sympathizers who heard him describe
his wife's battle against multiple sclerosis on a radio talk show in
1992 hid the drug in plastic baggies behind an A&P in town for him to
retrieve. Later Miller started growing the drug in wooded areas in
Ocean County "where nobody would see me." He then put the marijuana in
salad dressing or made patties of "green butter" that his wife would
swallow like a pill.

"The law would have never stopped me from taking care of Cheryl and
doing what's right," he said. "It helped her because her arms and legs
would contract and it was hard to straighten them out. With the
marijuana, she had little to no spasticity," said Miller, who first
read about marijuana's benefits in a medical journal.

The closely watched Supreme Court case, in which Justices Sandra
O'Connor, William Rehnquist and Clarence Thomas dissented, was
actually an appeal by the Bush administration in a case that it lost
in late 2003. It revolved around two seriously ill California women,
Angel Raich and Diane Monson, who had sued then-U.S. Attorney General
John Ashcroft, asking for a court order to let them smoke, grow or
obtain marijuana without fear of arrest.

A bill introduced in the New Jersey Legislature in January (S2200)
would authorize the state health department to issue registration
cards to patients whose doctors certify that they need the drug.
Registered patients or their caregivers could possess up to six plants
or 1 ounce of marijuana without fear of prosecution.

"It's all about compassion and helping people in the worst conditions
who are not responding to other types of medications," said sponsor
Sen. Nicholas P. Scutari (D-Union), who is also the prosecutor for the
city of Linden. "Not for one second are we advocating the legalization
of drugs for recreational use," he added.

But the New Jersey bill lacks the support of acting Gov. Richard
Codey.

"The court's decision does not change his own opinion and he still
believes that legalizing marijuana is wrong," said spokeswoman Kelley
Heck.

The Supreme Court decision also means that federal anti-drug laws
trump state laws that allow the use of medical marijuana.

"I can tell you the DEA will continue to enforce the federal law,"
said Rogene Waite, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement
Administration.

Ten states, including California, have such laws, and a poll last year
by AARP, the nation's largest advocacy group for seniors, showed
three-fourths of older Americans support marijuana for medical use.

"It's crystal clear that after this opinion, the United States has the
authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act against anyone who
possesses or distributes marijuana," said John Jacobi, a professor of
law at Seton Hall Law School in Newark. "You can never be sure when
the FBI would be outside your door."

John Tomicki, executive director of the League of American Families,
said that even when it comes to debilitating conditions, smoking pot
"is not necessary."

The head of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey agrees.

"The non-marijuana approaches to nausea, vomiting and pain have been
more effective then marijuana," said William Hait.

But sometimes the drugs just don't work, countered Donald McGrath of
Robbinsville. The New Jersey father lost his 28-year-old son, Sean, to
cancer two years ago. The drug was recommended by his doctors, said
the father. "It was the only thing that made him feel normal."

The newly elected president of the Medical Society of New Jersey,
Eileen Moynihan, said there is no question that marijuana can be
abused. But the Woodbury rheumatologist said that for some patients,
it may be their only effective treatment.

Moynihan said she has treated patients with Marinol, a derivative of
marijuana, which successfully increased appetite, but did not address
pain.

"There are many things about marijuana that have me concerned about
its overall usage, but I would have to say that in certain
circumstances, it might be the only thing you have for somebody," she
said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake