cannabisnews.com: Sense and Sinsemilla





Sense and Sinsemilla
Posted by CN Staff on December 21, 2003 at 09:21:19 PT
Editorial
Source: Daily Camera 
Marijuana is a drug. It's mood-altering and has beneficial medical properties, including the soothing of nausea and symptoms of glaucoma. It is addictive, but much less so, say drug-treatment experts, than alcohol, cocaine, heroin, caffeine and nicotine. To be sure, it can cause terrible problems for habitual users. But it's hardly the "demon weed" that has been described in official U.S. drug policies for decades. It's considered a Schedule I narcotic, because it allegedly has both "no current accepted medical use" and " high potential for abuse." Meanwhile, Schedule II drugs include cocaine and PCP because they have medical uses. 
But so does marijuana, though politicians refuse to listen to doctors who say so. Attorney General John Ashcroft even claims that federal anti-drug laws supercede state laws — including one in Colorado — allowing the medical use of marijuana. The Justice Department has threatened to go after doctors who follow those state laws, making the laws all but useless. But now a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — admittedly the nation's most liberal — has ruled that it's unconstitutional to prosecute doctors who recommend marijuana in states where it's legal. The ruling does not affect Colorado, which is in the 10th Circuit, but we applaud it nevertheless. Contrary to bogey stories proffered by Ashcroft and his ilk, allowing desperately ill patients to relieve their symptoms with marijuana will not open the floodgates to "reefer madness." And we highly doubt many doctors wink at the law just so they can enable stoners. Marijuana has valid medical uses. It should be reduced, at least, to a Schedule II drug. And the feds should stop hassling doctors for simply trying to help suffering patients. Note: Feds should back off medical marijuana battle.Newshawk: sukoi Source: Daily Camera (CO)Published: December 19, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Daily CameraWebsite: http://www.bouldernews.com/Contact: openforum thedailycamera.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Raich v. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfThe Medical Marijuana Winshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18013.shtmlWhere’s The Compassion?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18003.shtmlFederalism Wins - National Reviewhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18002.shtml
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