Medical marijuana a necessity for society

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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 Yet the outdated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.