Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

U.S. should allow pot as medicine

The Spokesman-Review

When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, Richard Nixon was president, anti-war protests raged across college campuses and young people tuned in, turned on and dropped out to the sounds of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix.

At the time, marijuana had a high potential for abuse and medicinal use was rare. Thirty-five years later, that’s only half right.

Congress has been slow to acknowledge that, so states have stepped in. Eleven states have legalized its medicinal use. Washington state did so via a voter initiative. But the federal government intervened and invoked the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, which allows federal laws to supersede state laws.

Lawsuits ensued, and the U.S. Supreme Court this week affirmed the feds’ authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act in all states. The principle is important. It ensures that states cannot abridge civil rights, equal employment protections, interstate commerce and other federal laws.

In short, it was a ruling about constitutional powers, not the efficacy of marijuana as medicine. If that’s hard to accept, consider the opposite scenario where Congress does permit medicinal marijuana, but some states prosecute users anyway.

The best course is a federal solution. That means Congress needs to update the Controlled Substances Act.

Some politicians will be reluctant to surrender an issue that’s ripe for grandstanding. After all, “the demon weed” is a symbol of the tumultuous 1960s. It’s easy to score political points off shopworn images, but it’s no longer the case that “only dopes use dope.”

Medicinal applications of marijuana are fairly widespread and the results are compelling. Some glaucoma patients find it relieves eye pressure. Some AIDS patients prefer smoking marijuana over taking yet another pill to relieve pain. Some cancer patients say it relieves the nausea caused by chemotherapy. Marijuana is an alternative for those who have difficulty swallowing.

Like any controlled substance, marijuana would have to pass muster with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, because the potential for abuse is obvious. It should only be available with a doctor’s prescription. Such a process is safer and more responsible than the grow-your-own operations that have cropped up around the country. Morphine, Percocet, OxyContin and a long list of prescription drugs are also candidates for abuse. Nobody expects them to be available on a state-by-state basis.

The stigma attached to marijuana is not a good enough reason to keep it out of the hands of people who are suffering. Attitudes have changed. Polls show that Americans support its medicinal use by wide margins. It’s time for Congress to tune in, not drop out of this evolving debate.