Reclassify Marijuana As A Schedule Ii Drug

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The medicinal value of marijuana wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which assigned marijuana a Schedule I designation. The indefensible classification put marijuana alongside ****** and hallucinogens as a dangerous and addictive drug with no accepted medical use.

The Schedule I listing played a key role in Monday's 6-3 Supreme Court decision that federal law trumps state law when it comes to marijuana. But the court was appropriately troubled by the decision's effect on medical marijuana patients. Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens noted that the solution could be found when "the voices of voters" are "heard in the halls of Congress."

Unfortunately, Congress is all but deaf when voters' voices mention marijuana. That's why voters in 11 states, including Oregon, used the more responsive state initiative process to give sick people access to medical marijuana.

Monday's ruling makes it clear that without corrective action by Congress, the federal government can arrest and prosecute Americans for using a medicine that has been legally prescribed by a doctor under state law. The decision is a victory for the Bush administration, which views state medical marijuana laws as a threat to long-standing national drug policy.

Solid scientific data confirming the medicinal value of marijuana would be an even greater threat to the draconian federal pot policy. There's a reason for the dearth of independent research on the subject: The government controls the only legal supply of marijuana available for research. The administration isn't much interested in providing scientists with the means to debunk its absolutist position on pot.

That makes marijuana as medicine vulnerable to a Catch-22 criticism from opponents.

"To date, science and research have not determined that smoking marijuana is safe or effective," John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said Monday.

Walters conveniently ignores the formal studies that have been done and the anecdotal reports of hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients, all of which leave little doubt of the drug's medicinal value. Marijuana has been shown to relieve nausea, appetite loss, muscle spasms, seizures and chronic pain. It has long been known to reduce the intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma, the leading cause of blindness in the United States.

A more legitimate criticism was raised by the Institute of Medicine in its seminal 1999 report. "Smoked marijuana," the institute noted, "is a crude THC ( marijuana's active ingredient ) delivery system that also delivers harmful substances." Marijuana smoke contains up to four times as much tar as tobacco, as well as many of the other harmful components of tobacco smoke. The institute's report stated flatly, "There is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication."

Apart from the serious health issues, smoking pot medicinally will always be seen by opponents as a cover for recreational users, a dangerously contradictory message for children and a Trojan horse for legalization of marijuana. Medical marijuana advocates' interests are best served by the development of safe alternatives to smoking.

One such alternative is the synthetic THC pill Marinol, but many patients say the pill takes effect too slowly and has side effects that aren't present in smoked marijuana.

A more promising alternative is Sativex, a natural liquid marijuana extract developed by a British company that is sprayed into the mouth. The prescription sale of Sativex was approved in Canada on April 19.

But don't expect to see Sativex at your local pharmacy anytime soon. It's the Schedule 1, felony thing. Given the political climate, Food and Drug Administration testing and approval of Sativex is about as likely as an FDA ban on tobacco products.

The real solution is, ironically, contained in a 1988 ruling by the Drug Enforcement Administration's own chief administrative law judge: Move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II. Such a designation would continue strict control but also would enable doctors to legally prescribe marijuana, just as they do with the Schedule II drugs morphine and *******. It would open the doors to widespread research and development of safe alternatives to smoking. The DEA's brass rejected the ruling out of hand. A court upheld their decision following a challenge in 1994.

Congress has the power to reschedule marijuana through legislation. If lawmakers would listen to the voices of the voters, they'd realize that rescheduling isn't legalization or even decriminalization. It's just compassion and common sense.

Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2005 The Register-Guard
Contact: rgletters@guardnet.com
Website: http://www.registerguard.com/