Pubdate: Fri, 13 Mar 2015
Source: New Mexican, The (Santa Fe, NM)
Copyright: 2015 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/SendLetter/
Website: http://www.santafenewmexican.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/695
Note: The New York Times

GETTING SENSIBLE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Three senators, two Democrats and a Republican, introduced a bill on 
Monday that would allow patients to use marijuana for medical 
purposes in states where it is legal, without fear of federal 
prosecution for violating narcotics laws.

The bill makes a number of important changes to federal marijuana 
policies - and it deserves to be passed by Congress and enacted into 
law. Though this legislation would not repeal the broad and 
destructive federal ban on marijuana, it is a big step in the right direction.

The most important change would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule 
I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, which is intended for 
drugs, like heroin, that have no accepted medical use in the United 
States, and place it instead in Schedule II, the classification for 
drugs that have a legitimate medical use but also have a "high 
potential for abuse."

The Schedule I classification made no sense because there is a 
medical consensus that patients with AIDS, cancer, epilepsy and 
serious degenerative conditions can benefit from marijuana. And 
millions of patients have used marijuana to relieve pain, nausea, 
appetite loss, insomnia and seizures associated with various illnesses.

The bill, sponsored by Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten 
Gillibrand of New York, both Democrats, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., would 
not legalize medical marijuana in all 50 states. But it would amend 
federal law to allow states to set their own medical marijuana 
policies and prevent federal law enforcement agencies from 
prosecuting patients, doctors and caregivers in those states. 
Currently, 35 states and the District of Columbia permit some form of 
medical marijuana use. States would remain free to ban medical 
marijuana if they wished. ..

Polls show a majority of Americans in favor of legalization of 
medical marijuana. It is long past time for Congress to recognize the 
need to change course.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom