Keep medical marijuana legal

Last Tuesday the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government cannot revoke the medical licenses of California doctors who suggest the use of medical marijuana to their patients. The court also ruled doctors cannot be investigated by the Department of Justice for simply recommending the drug. While the ruling is consistent with California drug law, it draws attention to the strange legal paradox at the center of the medical marijuana debate -- while certain state laws permit the use of the drug for medicinal purposes, federal law prohibits it.\nIn 1996 California passed Proposition 215, which made it legal for a patient with a doctor's prescription to grow and use marijuana. Since then, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have followed suit with their own medical marijuana laws. But in spite of overwhelming evidence of the medical benefits of marijuana (see www.bob.nap.edu/books/0309071550/html/ for the Institute of Medicine's report), use of the drug for any reason remains illegal under federal law.\nHow is the discrepancy to be resolved? In response to this question, then-presidential candidate George W. Bush said, "I believe each state can choose that decision as they choose." (quoted in Dallas Morning News, Oct. 20, 1999) But the Bush administration, following the footsteps of the Clinton administration, has ardently opposed state laws permitting the use of medical marijuana. Reneging on his campaign promise, Bush has attacked state laws in the form of the Justice Department case against California doctors and has led a crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Strike one up for the government, who in fighting its war on drugs has undermined California law and made it difficult for people with legitimate illnesses to acquire a legitimate pain reliever. \nBut doctors who recommend medical marijuana are not violating any law, state or federal. The doctors aren't the ones who provide the marijuana; they merely provide medical counsel. Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder, one of the appeals court judges, said of the ruling, "An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients." Revoking the licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana is just a means for the Justice Department to end the use of medical marijuana in spite of state law. \nThe government should not stop cancer patients from smoking marijuana to ease the pain and nausea of chemotherapy, nor should it stop the medicinal use of marijuana by people suffering from glaucoma. Along with being sensible, the legality of medical marijuana is also the will of the people of California and eight other states (the two do not necessarily coincide). The Court of Appeals ruling should be applauded, and further action should be taken to ensure that sick people get safe, effective and affordable relief when it is available to them.