> Pubdate: Fri, 21 Feb 2003
> Source: Forward (US)
> Copyright: 2003 Forward
> Contact:
letters@forward.com.
> Website:
http://www.forward.com/> Details:
http://www.mapinc.org/media/843> Author: Ed Rosenthal
> Note: Ed Rosenthal, a columnist, is the author and editor of more than
> a dozen books. He is currently awaiting sentencing following his
> conviction on three felony charges for his participation in
> implementing California's medical marijuana program. Bookmark:
>
http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) Bookmark:
>
http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark:
>
http://www.mapinc.org/people/Ed+Rosenthal>
> A MARIJUANA CRUSADER DEFENDS HIS HEALING MISSION
>
> There is no doubt among knowledgeable physicians and researchers that
> marijuana is a medicine. It has proven anti-spasmodic, analgesic and
> anti-nausea properties, and has an incredible safety record. There are
> no recorded deaths from its use and overindulgence results in
> drowsiness and a sound sleep.
>
> In the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live, we have an especially
> high percentage of HIV/AIDS cases. Three of my own neighbors have died
> from this disease. Although there was interest in marijuana as a
> medicine for glaucoma and other conditions before the epidemic, it was
> marijuana's unique qualities in relieving AIDS symptoms that first
> attracted patients to it. It allowed them to take their drug cocktail
> and still lead regular lives. Tens of thousands of victims of
> HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and cancer therapy
> find marijuana to be the only medicine that relieves pain and nausea
> without drugging them into semi-consciousness.
>
> The federal government, though, contends that there is no such thing
> as "medical marijuana." It closed the doors to new applicants for its
> Federal Compassionate Use Program, which dispenses government-approved
> marijuana, when floods of applications came in from HIV/AIDS patients.
> When nongovernmental compassion programs began to form and states
> approached the issue, the federal government and its drug agency, the
> Drug Enforcement Administration, claimed that medical cannabis was
> just a ruse, and that medical providers who distributed marijuana were
> merely sophisticated street dealers.
>
> There are several reasons why the federal government opposes
> legalization. They revolve around politics and ideology rather than
> science and experience. First and foremost, though, it is an issue of
> jobs.
>
> Just a few facts bring this into perspective. Seven percent of the
> total criminal justice system expenditures are spent jailing marijuana
> users. Total government expenditures on marijuana law enforcement are
> $15 billion a year. In 2002, there were 735,000 arrests on marijuana
> charges, and 88% of those arrests were for simple possession. Today
> there are 100,000 prisoners serving time for marijuana convictions.
> Think of the number of police officers, judges, lawyers and prison
> guards -- not to mention prison construction firms and other providers
> of basic prison services -- who are employed through marijuana's
> criminalization.
>
> It is apparent by any measure that the marijuana laws are more harmful
> to society and to the individual than the behavior they are attempting
> to regulate. Yet the federal government views any legalization of
> marijuana, even for sick people, as a threat to its prohibition -- in
> which it has a vested interest. No matter that medicinal and
> recreational use are separate issues, just as they are with opiates
> and other drugs -- official rhetoric about the issue of marijuana
> suggests that the general populace is unable to make such a
> distinction.
>
> In actuality, the DEA and federal officials are the ones who are
> unwilling to make this distinction. Acknowledging that marijuana has
> any medicinal use undermines the DEA's categorization of marijuana as
> a Schedule 1 drug, a category that is reserved for highly addictive
> drugs with no safe medicinal applications. If the medicinal value of
> marijuana were acknowledged, marijuana would have to be placed in a
> less restrictive category -- such as Schedule 2, along with morphine,
> cocaine and methamphetamines. The government claims that acknowledging
> the medicinal value of marijuana would weaken marijuana laws as a
> whole.
>
> The Bible also has quite a few laws. Most of them are admonitions
> against sins of commission. We learn about people who commit these
> sins all the time in the news: robbers, murderers, liars and other
> miscreants. These are the easy laws. They are clear-cut. Don't kill,
> don't steal, don't bear false witness, don't stray into adultery. All
> of these commandments have something in common: There is a victim who
> is hurt by the transgression.
>
> I was faced with a different kind of dilemma -- that of committing a
> sin of omission -- when the Oakland City Council appointed me an
> officer in 1998, thereby authorizing me to provide medical marijuana
> to patients and to induct other people into that service. I had skills
> in plant-growing techniques that few others had, and knew that my
> training could be used to alleviate pain and suffering.
>
> Yet I hesitated out of fear of government retribution, even though as
> a city officer I was assured of my immunity from prosecution.
> Ultimately, I decided to pitch in and, I believe, made great efforts
> to alleviate pain and suffering.
>
> The federal government obviously thought otherwise. A year ago, agents
> of the DEA, FBI and Internal Revenue Service raided my garden and
> arrested me. I was charged with marijuana cultivation, conspiracy and
> maintaining a place where the marijuana was grown. I now face up to 25
> years in jail, although the judge has implied that he plans to grant
> me a minimal sentence. I was released on a $200,000 property bond on
> $500,000 bail. No matter the outcome of my sentencing, I don't regret
> helping the sick. My conscience is clear.
>
> In pre-trial motions, the judge ruled that a literal reading of the
> federal law, which Oakland cited when conferring immunity, was in fact
> a misinterpretation. At trial, I was not allowed to disclose to the
> jury that I was an officer of Oakland, that the marijuana was
> distributed for medical purposes or that I had been led to believe
> that what I was doing was legal.
>
> Even more tragic for our democracy, both prosecutor and judge ordered
> the jurors to choose law over justice, lies over truth. But most
> disturbing of all is that both the prosecutor and judge want to close
> dispensaries altogether, forcing patients who rely on medical
> marijuana back to the black market. They don't seem to care about the
> 30,000 patients' health or quality of life. They treat the ill as
> criminals. Ultimately, they will have to deal with their sins of
> commission.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ____ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
> interest in receiving the included information for research and
> educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager
>
>
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