Both have a more compassionate and sensible position on the use of marijuana as medicine than do the Clinton administration and the Republican Congress. Morphine is illegal, but is routinely prescribed as a painkiller. Not marijuana, however, which remains illegal under federal law for all uses. Yet, it is widely acknowledged that marijuana can help those suffering from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and other ailments. Groups ranging from the American Cancer Society to Kaiser Permanente support access to or research on medical marijuana.
Individual doctors agree.
A poll of the British Medical Association yielded similar results. This doesn't mean there aren't risks, or that pot is the best medicine for everyone under all circumstances. But half a dozen states most recently Maine, in a November initiative have decided that medical marijuana should be an option. The administration responded by threatening to prosecute any doctor with the temerity to issue a prescription under state law. The GOP Congress denounced voters who OK'd use of marijuana and barred the District of Columbia from even counting the votes in its election.