cannabisnews.com: US Should Let Doctors Advise The Use of Marijuana





US Should Let Doctors Advise The Use of Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on October 20, 2003 at 07:03:04 PT
Editorial
Source: Newsday 
The Supreme Court's silence has freed some doctors to talk to patients about marijuana, a step in the right direction in the nonsensical war between federal drug warriors and states that have legalized the medicinal use of pot. Without comment, the high court last week refused to hear the administration's appeal of a lower-court ruling barring federal officials from punishing doctors who recommend marijuana for their patients. It was the correct thing to do: Denying doctors the authority to write prescriptions for controlled substances if they dare to recommend marijuana, as Washington was prepared to do, violates the free speech rights both of doctors and their patients.
Sick people need to be free to discuss any and all treatment options with doctors, without looking over their shoulders for the cops.They now can in the seven states within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that have medical marijuana laws - California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.But most patients still have no legal way to obtain marijuana. It is a federal felony to cultivate, possess or distribute marijuana. And because the court let the Ninth Circuit ruling stand, rather than deciding this issue itself, it is binding only in that one circuit. Federal officials remain free to intimidate doctors in other states with medical marijuana laws, currently Colorado, Maine and Maryland. The present state of affairs also perpetuates an awkward situation for federal law enforcement officials who, in going after doctors and patients, insist they are merely enforcing federal law, which supersedes state statutes. Rather than asking them to turn a blind eye to illegality, Congress should change the law to require that state medical-marijuana laws be respected.Washington should not thwart the will of the people where they've approved the use of marijuana to relieve the nausea and wasting of chronic illness. The war on drugs should not target the sick and dying. Source: Newsday (NY)Published: October 20, 2003Copyright: 2003 Newsday Inc.Contact: letters newsday.comWebsite: http://www.newsday.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Walters vs. Conant No. 03-40 - PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/walters.pdfRuling Doesn't Protect Medical Marijuana Sellershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17611.shtmlU.S. Stonehearted on Medical Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17603.shtmlCourt Hands Victory To Backers of Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17579.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment