MARIJUANA AS PAIN RELIEVER LONG IGNORED BY CONGRESS

There is an element of the public that buys into the specious "zero
tolerance" laws that replace carefully crafted legislation with bumper
sticker slogans.

It is the kind of thinking that gets high school students expelled for
giving a friend an aspirin.

Federal marijuana laws fit the description of bumper-sticker
justice.

This is not a plea for legalizing marijuana.

Our purpose is more restrictive: We favor allowing people whose
doctors certify that marijuana will ease their suffering be permitted
to obtain medicinal marijuana and to grow it for personal use.

Washington citizens voted in laws legalizing the use of marijuana as a
pain reliever and an appetite builder for people with diseases like
terminal cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

The state has created a system under which groups of patients with
such certifications would be allowed to grow marijuana in gardens for
their own use.

The state allowed a six-month moratorium for the communities that
needed them. Richland, Pasco and Kennewick have voted to take the time
to study the questions, from oversight to zoning, that follow.

Cities can continue the moratoriums for six more months if more time
is needed.

It's not unreasonable. The issue requires deep study. It should also
require some rethinking by members of Congress on what has been a
national "given" for decades.

We've had zero tolerance preached at us so long it feels sometimes
like we're living on George Orwell's Animal Farm, where the sloganeers
reached their zenith.

But while city officials may take up to a year to study this, we
recommend they keep an eye on the calendar and their watches during
this moratorium.

Every step in the process is a potential bottleneck. Those given the
task of reviewing local policies should look at their watches and
think, "People are hurting, and I may have part of the means to help
them."

It's true that federal laws stand in the way of reform, but other
cities in Washington and other states have taken on this role for
their citizens.

The federal government's position is murky. Government prosecutors
have cracked down on providers, but other actions suggest some level
of tolerance.

The following is excerpted from a letter from the Department of
Justice to U.S. attorneys in the field. (The Ogden memo refers to an
October 2009 memorandum, issued by Deputy General David Ogden to
federal prosecutors in states that approve the medical use of marijuana.)

"A number of states have enacted some form of legislation relating to
the medical use of marijuana. Accordingly the Ogden memo reiterated to
you that prosecution of significant traffickers in illegal drugs,
including marijuana, remains a core priority, but advised that it is
likely not an efficient use of federal resources to focus enforcement
efforts on individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use
marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with
applicable state law, or their caregivers.

"The term 'caregiver' as used in the memorandum meant just that:
Individuals providing care to individuals with cancer or other serious
illnesses, not commercial operations cultivating, selling or
distributing marijuana."

But a subsequent memo by Ogden's successor emphasizes that the
department opposes marijuana and that it does not allow for commercial
or illegal marijuana operations.

For many years, the Herald has urged the availability of legal medical
marijuana; indeed, we supported medical use of whatever drugs are
found by the professional medical community to be effective.

We still do, and are gratified that the majority of the voters in the
state agree.

Congress really ought to fix this mess. It deprives some very sick
people of pain relief that they need desperately.

Laura Healy, of Green Hope Patient Network in Shoreline, was quoted by
The Associated Press as saying she still doesn't know what her
hoped-for medical marijuana operation will look like under the new
law.

"I don't even think (Gov. Chris) Gregoire understands what she put in
(the law)," Healy said. "She kind of left us with, 'OK, now what?'
Now, we're trying to figure it all out. And it's a big mess."

So it is. But give the governor and our legislators credit for doing
what they can.

The fault lies with members of Congress who would say anything to get
elected, but who ignore human suffering because there are no votes to
be gained.