Compassion drives church support for legalizing medical marijuana
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The City Paper-Wausau, WI, December 14, 2004

DEAR EDITOR:

There was something chilling about the "Supremes debate medical pot" article in the Dec. 2-9 issue of City Pages. Will the Court approve federal interference with the eleven states that allow sick people to use cannabis (medical marijuana) to relieve the symptoms of various afflictions? Federal officials are notoriously out of step with the public in their heavyhanded, zero tolerance War on Drugs. We hope the Court is as wise as Justice Brandeis when he wrote, "They [The makers of the Constitution] conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men."

The influential New England Journal of Medicine calls the federal policy toward medical marijuana "misguided, heavy-handed, and inhumane." The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that physicians and patients are relearning lessons learned centuries ago. Many people know that marijuana is now being used illegally for the nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy. It lowers intraocular pressure in glaucoma. Patients have found it useful as an anticonvulsant, as a muscle relaxant in spastic disorders, and as an appetite stimulant in the wasting syndrome of human immunodeficiency virus infection. It is also used to relieve phantom limb pain, menstrual cramps, and other types of chronic pain including migraines.

All this from one homeopathic remedy that can grow well in Wisconsin.

Polls and voter referenda have repeatedly indicated that the vast majority of Americans believe marijuana should be a medical option. Isn't it strange that the government can approve expensive chemical pharmaceuticals that can hurt or even kill people but they will ban medical use of a useful plant patients could grow themselves?

We believe it is time for a change. The United Methodist Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association and others have made statements supporting the controlled use of marijuana for medical reasons.

"According to our tradition, a physician is obligated to heal the sick," begins a resolution adopted by the Union for Reform Judaism. The statement acknowledges the medical use of marijuana as a 5,000 year old tradition and encourages the federal government to change marijuana's status from a prohibited substance to a prescription drug.

Other denominations have called for a reassessment of penalties for patients trying to increase their appetites during chemotherapy or alleviate chronic pain.

"We believe that seriously ill people should not be subject to arrest and imprisonment for using medical marijuana with their doctors' approval," asserted a Coalition for Compassionate Access statement endorsed by the United Church of Christ.

The Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative says, "It's time for organized religion to engage in effective advocacy for a more just and compassionate approach to dealing with drug use, abuse and addiction."

The Unitarian Universalist Association promotes policies that would "make all drugs legally available with a prescription by a licensed physician, subject to professional oversight; and end the practice of punishing an individual for obtaining, possessing, or using an otherwise illegal substance to treat a medical condition."

The Drug Warriors' biggest argument against medical' marijuana is that it's only the opening wedge in a movement toward total legalization of drugs. So, they want to "nip it in the bud."

What if the Drug Warriors are right and legalizing medical marijuana turned out to be the first step on a journey that ended in the relegalization of every drug? What would Wisconsin be like?

Understandably, many fear that, with no drug laws, we would have thousands of addicts, crack babies, children trying drugs and other evils. But that's what we have now after a generation of drug prohibition! It is time for a change. We can do better. We must do better.

Therefore, when the Wisconsin Legislature opens its next session, we must urge them to seriously consider a healthy change in its approach to medical marijuana. We urge concerned readers and communities of faith to advocate for reform on this issue of compassion. Wisconsin must act on behalf of the interests of her citizens, whether the feds approve or not.

If we care about the children, our community, about sick people in need of help and relief, we have to end the misguided War on Drugs.

Jim Maas, Rothschild
Social Action Committee, First Universalist Unitarian Church, Wausau