Tomorrow's editorials: A runoff in Afghanistan, and a saner medical marijuana policy
Here are previews of some editorials we're working on. Let us know what you think. The best comments will run alongside them in the print edition.
--It's certainly good news that Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreeed today to a runoff election against his nearest competitor, Abdullah Abdullah, and accepted the findings of massive fraud in the initial contest. His previous willingness to ignore the nearly 1 million fraudulent votes he got and to cling to power regardless was a huge obstacle to any hopes for a stable partnership between the U.S. and the Afghan government and tainted the question of whether the Obama administration should send more troops. Apparently all the hemming and hawing the president did over whether he would accept Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendation to increase the force there by another 40,000 wasn't wasted time; reports suggest that the administration was able to use the issue as leverage to get more cooperation from Mr. Karzai.
But let's not get too excited just yet. We need to see that an election actually happens and is free and fair. Moreover, it's hard to imagine that the Karzai government has suddenly gotten religion and shed its corrupt ways forever. Mr. Karzai's decision is better than the alternative, but it's no guarantee that we have a clear path ahead to helping build a strong, stable Afghan society.
--The Obama administration announced this week that federal law enforcement officials will stop going after people who use marijuana with a doctor's prescription in states where that practice is legal. That's a good step. Chasing down cancer patients smoking a drug that's no more harmful than many others that can be freely prescribed hardly seemed like a good use of law enforcement time in the war on drugs.
Perhaps Maryland will take the cue and add a dose of sanity to its medical marijuana laws as well. It is not legal in Maryalnd for a doctor to prescribe marijuana, but it's only slightly illegal for people to use the drugs for medical purposes. A defendant charged with posession of marijuana is allowed to present evidence of medical need and, if a judge finds that convincing, is subject to a $100 fine. Essentially, we're treating the issue with a wink and a nod, an arrangement that forces those whose conditions can legitimately be helped by using the drug to procure it illegally, rather than in a controlled setting where their safety and the purity of the product can be assured.
We don't advocate going so far as California, where doctors have been known to prescribe marijuana for conditions so mild as anxiety disorders. The state should empower a commission, perhaps the Maryland Board of Physicians, to certify conditions for which marijuana use is an appropriate treatment.
Comments
One more time:
Legalize natural state product.
Medicalize pharmaceutical product.
Consider the impacts associated to illegality of possession and offshore sourcing that benefits cartels and worse... let alone the costs to maintain the criminal justice system here...
It is past time to correct a 70 year old erroneous policy change based in misinformation and ulterior motives.
Posted by: MrRational | October 20, 2009 11:59 AM
The fact is that marijuana should be as legal as alcohol or tobacco and any amount of money used in enforcing laws against its use is a watse.
Posted by: Sean Tully | October 20, 2009 12:24 PM
While I do not claim to be a military or diplomatic expert, I do feel fairly confident that President Obama is not "hemming and hawing" while he decides the possible fate of 40,000 additional troops that could be sent to Afghanistan.
Posted by: Sean Tully | October 20, 2009 12:28 PM
It is not legal to prescribe marijuana in the United States, all the doctor can do is to make a recommendation. This may be sufficient for a judge to accept "medical necessity" and result in sentence mitigation in Maryland, but it is not actually necessary - the judge can determine medical necessity based on a known medical condition (Recently this happened in Rockville, where an MS sufferer was given a reduced penalty without proffering any doctor's recommendation for marijuana).
Posted by: Michael Rigby | October 20, 2009 2:37 PM
Kudos to the editorial board for taking such a proactive stance on medical cannabis! We at MD Safe Access are especially pleased that you recognize the critical need for safe, legal supply. Maryland's sick and dying residents are currently in great personal danger from both sides of the law. One member of our organization was robbed at gun point during a transaction for his medicine. Another has been arrested twice for possession, even though he had two doctor's recommendations. Until the law in Maryland is altered to clear up significant ambiguities and provide safe supply, our friends and neighbors will continue to be caught in the crossfire of the larger war on drugs.
We have seen great leadership in Maryland on this issue. We look forward to working with the legislature and the Governor's office to enact appropriate protections for the sick and dying residents of Maryland.
Posted by: Damien Nichols, Member Coordinator, MD Safe Access | October 20, 2009 2:55 PM
You are right that state and federal laws about medical marijuana should be congruent, not antithetical. But there are negatives to the legalization. The medical literature is still evolving about this subject. It is unclear how much marijuana should be prescribed, and for what conditions. I doubt that the Board of Physicians is up to the task of setting medical limits or settling the questions regarding dosage and indications. In California anything goes. Marijuana proponents have made it the panacea, wanting the weed, for pain and loss of appetite to mood disorders. I have one patient who smokes it for his glaucoma, rejecting the traditional, less addictive treatments for his condition. I have another who was charged with possession and intent to distribute, who wanted me to get her out of the scrape by writing a note for her after the event, that I had advised her to use marijuana for anxiety and depression. I refused but you see the mess medical marijuana can create for doctors. Tetrahydrocannabinol should be packaged as pills for medical use and should be regulated. Dosages for various conditions should be determined like for any other prescription drug. Until such a time doctors should not be made pawns in the game of dice between the proponents and the opponents of marijuana legalization.
A doctor
Posted by: A doctor | October 20, 2009 4:26 PM
So some Americans can have their medicine but the rest can't? Is this a sample of the new health care bill?
SOME! Americans really got ripped on this one, it's not good enough, what kind of policy is this?
We will let a few Americans have medicine but not the rest????? Is this what the health care bill is going to be like?
Posted by: jo | October 20, 2009 6:17 PM
A Doctor: psssst come close. I suspect thaat no one has told you that this "medical marijuana" business is just a front. The real issue is about allowing adults to make adult decisions for themselves which may include some herbal approaches to some medical conditions as well. Just thought you ought to know.
Posted by: MrRational | October 20, 2009 6:30 PM
To keep cannabis illegal while tobacco and alcohol are dispensed freely is *MURDEROUSLY STUPID*.
Posted by: Richard Steeb | October 21, 2009 10:15 AM
Another disgraceful stop on the Obama Apology and Appeasement tour. A kindergartner would have the or beeter foregin policy as this Administration. This is the same man the that is not sipporting the Honduran people, apologing to the world for how "bad and arrogant" we americans are, threw our allies under the bus in Europe and Israel, Being laughed at by Moscow and CHina and Iran and N Kores ( for which he is receiving Kudos from the UN and fringe left liberal in the US) Its digraceful and as recently noted--He is politcizing the lives of those who serve.
Posted by: carlhk1 | October 23, 2009 10:52 AM
Marijuana is an herb containing drugs that have been shown to be effective in treating a number of conditions. Initial studies indicate these drugs may slow the progression of Multiple Sclerosis, for instance. Research is hobbled by the lack of quality control and standardization in production.
We need laws legalizing the cultivation of marijuana for the purposes of research as well as for the treatment of conditions known to be responsive to the drugs contained in it.
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