Pubdate: Thu, 26 Mar 2009
Source: New York Times (NY)
Page: A26
Copyright: 2009 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries

RELIEF FOR PATIENTS

Attorney General Eric Holder announced last week that the federal 
government will no longer prosecute dispensers of medical marijuana 
if they comply with state law. That should bring relief to people who 
need marijuana for health reasons and free up law enforcement 
resources for more important work.

There is considerable evidence that marijuana can be useful in 
treating pain, nausea, weight loss and other symptoms associated with 
chemotherapy and H.I.V. and other illnesses. Thirteen states, 
including California, have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, 
which remains illegal under federal law.

The Bush administration was, nevertheless, intent on stopping the 
medical use of marijuana. It brought criminal charges against medical 
marijuana dispensaries, even ones in states that had made medical use 
of marijuana legal. Federal prosecutors treated their targets like 
common drug traffickers.

In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration issued a poorly documented 
statement disputing marijuana's therapeutic value. It was one of many 
cases in which the Bush team distorted science to justify its policies.

Mr. Holder's statement does not mean an end to all medical marijuana 
prosecutions. The Drug Enforcement Administration says it will 
continue to go after dispensaries that violate state and federal 
laws, like by operating as fronts for drug dealers or selling to minors.

The Obama Justice Department has an enormous backlog of legal matters 
to work through, from enforcing long-ignored civil-rights laws to 
prosecuting white-collar criminals in the banking industry and on 
Wall Street. Mr. Holder deserves credit for recognizing that going 
after medical marijuana dispensers is not only bad policy, it is a 
distraction from work that really matters. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake