That sums up much of the reaction from marijuana-growing cooperatives to this week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal law will continue to bar the growing or sale of the drug for medical purposes. A glance at the background shows why the ruling makes sense. First, after years of controlled studies, there is scant evidence that marijuana is good medicine or serves its putative medical purposes any better than legal drugs. In the case of glaucoma, research has found marijuana indeed lowers pressure in the eye. But, as the National Eye Institute found, a host of legal drugs do the same.
Some older patients using it suffer negative psychological reactions.
Yes, more research is needed. Several government-funded studies continue to explore marijuana's medical potential. In fact, in order for researchers to have enough marijuana to study, the National Institutes of Health has its own marijuana plot down South. Non-government funded researchers can purchase the government marijuana for their own studies. In the meanwhile, individual AIDS and cancer patients who feel they have experienced benefits from marijuana need not hang out in back alleys or wait for the drug's legalization.