http://news.excite.com/news/uw/011127/university-153
Updated: Tue, Nov 27 12:00 PM EST
(U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES -- Until 1937,
the use of marijuana was legal in the United States. This was when the
Marijuana Tax Act declared the drug a dangerous substance and banned it
from use. But for patients who need the drug for medical purposes, the
battle to bring cannabis back may soon be won.
The Americans for Medical Rights
group will challenge the legality of medical marijuana at the federal level
by introducing a measure in the November 2002 ballot. The new measure would
charge the state with the responsibility of distributing medically prescribed
marijuana, hence making it an issue of state rights.
The Santa Monica-based group also
promoted California's medicinal marijuana initiative in 1996, which allowed
cannabis clubs to distribute marijuana for medical purposes. The Supreme
Court struck down this measure, stating cannabis clubs are not the appropriate
means of distributing marijuana.
Should the issue make its way before
the court, we can only hope that the justices will show more allegiance
to their state's rights agenda than they did in the 2000 presidential election
when they reversed Florida's federal court decision to hold a recount.
If conservative politics are allowed to outweigh objective judgement again,
patients with legitimate medical claims will be left to suffer.
The medicinal value of marijuana
has been proven time and again. The Institute of Medicine's report, commissioned
by the government in 1997, declared that marijuana helps patients deal
with the symptoms of AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.
It also alleviates the pain of arthritis, migraines, menstrual cramps,
alcohol and opiate addiction, depression, and debilitating mood disorders.
Each of these claims has been upheld as a legitimate need for marijuana
by a court of law in the United States, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Yet the outdated Controlled Substance Act of 1970 maintains marijuana has
no currently accepted medical use and is unsafe even when used under medical
supervision. Americans don't seem to agree: according to a 1999 Gallup
poll, 73 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical
usage.
But opponents of medical marijuana
are afraid of possible abuse for non-medical related purposes. They claim
legalizing the drug, even for medical use, will validate its recreational
use, and will in fact lead to an increase in use.
But keeping marijuana illegal has
caused more problems than it's worth. According to the FBI's Annual Uniform
Crime report, it cost approximately $10 billion in 2000 to fight marijuana
use -- much of it stemming from the price of jailing 5.9 million people
who have been arrested for non-violent marijuana related offenses since
1990. All of this costs money that's being extracted from worthier sectors
such as education, health care and other social programs.
It's imperative that the government
make marijuana legal for both medical and recreational purposes. Legalizing
it does not mean making all drugs legal, nor does it lead down a slippery
slope. Marijuana is different from other drugs because we can clearly see
its consequences and we can pinpoint the areas of society it's damaging.
A rational approach should be taken toward legalizing drugs as we learn
what effects such actions would have.
When the court gets its chance to
decide the legality of marijuana in the next couple of years, it should
turn to history, where trying to control a popular drug happened before;
it was called Prohibition. And the government lost.
(C) 2001 Daily Bruin via U-WIRE
Staff Editorial
Daily Bruin
U. California-Los Angeles