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Posted on 10/06/2003 10:47:05 AM PDT by MrLeRoy
As citizens of a free country, most Americans doubtless view the government as supportive of patients' rights and of innovative medical treatments. And this is largely a good view, unless your doctor believes that the best medicine for you is marijuana, in which case the only thing you'll receive from the federal government is jail time and a criminal record. There is, however, hope of change on the horizon. This October, Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) will introduce the Truth in Trials Act in the Senate. For the first time ever, Congress will entertain a bill proposing a federal law to recognize the validity of state medical marijuana laws.
The claim that marijuana has no medicinal value is an illegitimate one. Marijuana can limit the muscle pain and spasticity caused by multiple sclerosis. It can alleviate pain and can retard - and sometimes, even halt - the progress of glaucoma, which is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. Marijuana can also be used to treat AIDS, cancer, epilepsy and chronic pain.
All of these applications have been deemed legitimate by at least one court, legislature and/or governmental agency in the United States. At least two states, in fact, have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Unfortunately, due to the federal prohibitions against marijuana, people who need this substance for medical reasons have one of two options: to continue to suffer from the ailment, perhaps attempting to alleviate their symptoms through some other drug or procedure, or to obtain and use marijuana and risk federal criminal charges.
Prior to 1937, at least 27 medicines containing marijuana were legally available in the United States. That year, however, the federal government began to regulate the use of marijuana by a series of laws. Through the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, it increased the penalty for the use of marijuana by adding another federal count (failure to pay the marijuana tax) onto the charges against anyone who possessed or sold marijuana.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 placed all illicit and prescription drugs into five categories called schedules. Marijuana was labeled a Schedule 1 drug, which is defined as one that has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medicinal use, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. This is a vastly erroneous classification for a drug that in reality has multiple medical uses and that has never caused a death from overdose.
Court battles over the medical use of marijuana have raged since the passage of the Act. In 1972, a petition was submitted to the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, now known as the Drug Enforcement Agency, requesting that the classification of marijuana be rescheduled and that it be available by prescription. After sixteen years of courts wrangling over the issues, the DEA's chief administrative law judge, Francis Young, ruled that, "It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance...."
But top DEA officials rejected Young's ruling and refused to reschedule marijuana. In 1994, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the DEA is allowed to reject its judge's ruling and set its own standards; this ruling enabled the DEA to keep marijuana in Schedule 1 and deny patients its medical benefits.
However, Congress has the power to override the DEA and to reschedule marijuana through its own legislation. This is why it is so important that Sen. Durbin's Truth in Trials Act pass. This act would create an affirmative defense for those patients and caregivers who are using medical marijuana in accordance with state laws. It is wrong to harass and arrest people who are fighting for their lives simply because they resort to a treatment that they and their doctors find effective. A Pew Research poll conducted in February 2001 found that 73 percent of American adults supported permitting doctors to prescribe marijuana for their patients. It is time for the federal government to catch up to the American public and change the draconian drug policy that has plagued this nation for too long. The federal government should be in the business of supporting those with illnesses, not of adding to their burdens.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
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Or LSD, or heroin, or meth, or sex with 5 year olds...
Or LSD, or heroin, or meth, or sex with 5 year olds...
Provide evidence that any doctor has ever recommended LSD, or heroin, or meth, or sex with 5 year olds.
It is time for the federal government to catch up to the American public and change the draconian drug policy that has plagued this nation for too long. The federal government should be in the business of supporting those with illnesses, not of adding to their burdens.
good article.
It would sure help the reclassification effort if the front-stage supporters werent the "hemp clothing" brigade who look and sound like they substituted a bag of weedies for their breakfast bowl of wheaties.
Prior to 1937...you mean back in the "good old days" that conservatives always say they want to go back to? LOL
Oh baloney!
The Truth in Trials Act was introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R.1717) on April 10, 2003 where it died (is dying).
"4/24/2003: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman."
Even if this "Act" passed, it's unconstitutional -- Congress cannot write law which overturns Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. Durbin should be tried and hung as a traitor.
Now, if he wants to petition the Attorney General under 21 USCS Section 811. Authority and criteria for classification of substances to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug, he can certainly try.
Other than that, this is pure posturing.
Maui-waui is one of many things that your health care professional cannot authorize you to have...
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