cannabisnews.com: America's Last Dance with Mary Jane? 





America's Last Dance with Mary Jane? 
Posted by FoM on May 18, 2001 at 14:55:34 PT
By Reed Albergotti
Source: Daily Aztec
The Supreme Court ruled Monday against the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative, setting a national precedent against the medicinal distribution of marijuana. In its unanimous decision, the high court went against the American grain. Public opinion has shifted dramatically to the left of the "just say no" era because of the growing volume of anti-war-on-drugs rhetoric. The medical community has embraced the use of the drug since 1996, when California became the first state to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana. 
But Clarence Thomas, when defending the court's opinion, said the drug had "no accepted medical use at all." It would be interesting to see Thomas attempt to explain that opinion to a dying cancer patient or someone suffering from AIDS. Marijuana has been the only relief for many suffering from these afflictions. Now, it will be much more difficult to alleviate the pain. The Supreme Court ruled on very narrow grounds -- the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative had to prove that marijuana had a definite medical benefit. This is a difficult feat because the government will not dole out enough of the drug for significant tests to be conducted. Could this action be politically motivated? The government doesn't want tests done on marijuana because the results could lead to a wider acceptance -- possibly even a shift of public opinion against the prohibition of the drug. If marijuana is legalized, a large chunk of a multi-billion dollar government industry is erased and thousands of DEA and FBI agents are out of work. The prohibition of the medicinal use of marijuana has as much to do with the loss of government jobs as it does with the treatment of dying patients. Barry McCaffrey, the 'Drug Czar' of the Clinton Administration, commented on the ruling: He likened smoking marijuana to drinking a couple of glasses of vodka. Why is it that the people in charge of America's drug policy know nothing about the drugs they preside over? If vodka and marijuana provided equal relief for cancer patients, it is doubtful they would go through the trouble of obtaining marijuana. It is doubtful that so many doctors would endorse the medicinal use of marijuana. If America is a representative democracy, why are Congress and the Supreme Court so unrepresentative of the will of the people? What will it take for people inflicted with cancer and AIDS to have a voice in this country? Does Congress have to oust a couple of relics that still believe in the war on drugs and replace their seats with those in need of medicinal marijuana? Until that happens, it looks like cancer patients will be growing their own -- hopefully the DEA doesn't bust down their doors and push their wheelchairs directly into federal work camps. --Reed Albergotti is a journalism junior and assistant opinion editor for The Daily Aztec. --This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Source: Daily Aztec (CA)Author: Reed AlbergottiPublished: May 17, 2001Copyright: 1998-2001, The Daily AztecContact: letters thedailyaztec.comWebsite: http://www.dailyaztec.com/Related Articles & Web Site:O.C.B.C. Versus The U.S. Government News http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmMarijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9781.shtmlGood Medicinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9779.shtmlMedical Marijuana Detourhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9775.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by wally on May 18, 2001 at 19:06:06 PT:
misinformation
Allthough I agree with the cause you support one of your statements about this article was incorrect. The line "But Clarence Thomas, when defending the court's opinion, said the drug had "no accepted medical use at all." is not quite true. Actually Clarence Thomas said that congresss does not recognize a medical use for marijuana and that the supreme court would be outside of its jurisdiction to claim otherwise. (the real problem here is that congress or judges are in the position to weigh this idea. This is on par with ahving congressman perform surgery.) He neither supported nor dismissed congress's unscientific classification of marjiuana, he only said that this is what congress decided and the supreme court has no juristdiction in the matter.wally what
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