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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1997)
R \ Do you think Elvis is still alive and living in sin with Bigfoot in Montana? Let us know. I editorials, letters, commentary and perspective BY MAIL: P.O.Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 BY PHONE: (541)346-5511 BY E-MAIL: odeOoregon. uoregon. edu IN PERSON: Suite 300, EMU • • ■ OUR OPINION: Marijuana’s potential as a medical treatment is too important to be overcome by Jear • 1 CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald Any doctor can use cocaine for a routine nose operation or even prescribe mor phine as a pain killer. But try prescribing marijuana for medical purposes and he or she may wake up to the sound of the U.S. drug czar pounding on the door. Despite California and Arizona passing propositions that would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical use, the feder al government has made it clear that any one found prescribing or using marijuana will be criminally tried and prosecuted. Under the state propositions, doc tors would be allowed to prescribe marijuana for specific illnesses such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. Unlike cocaine and morphine, which are “schedule two” drugs ana tnereiore, may be used tor medical reasons, marijuana is a “schedule one” drug and is illegal for all purposes. For this reason, the federal government has stepped up and said it will not allow these propositions to be enacted. Arguments over using marijuana for medical purposes have sprung up on both siues oi me issue, sup porters claim marijuana is effective in reducing the nausea of chemother apy, relieving the pain of AIDS patients and treat ing glaucoma. Oppo nents point out that no official studies have ever proved marijuana has any medicinal uses. As long as marijuana remains a schedule one drug, California and Ari zona’s propositions will not be legal. However, it seems just a tad ridicu lous for the federal gov ernment to spend bil lions of dollars taking uown doctors wno prescnoe marijuana to dying patients. If someone suffering from multiple sclerosis gets temporary pain re lief from smoking a joint, why not let them? Our jails are already filled with murderers, burglars, rapists and hardcore drug dealers. Do we really need to add doctors who prescribe marijuana and their sick patients to that list? The federal government has decided to DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS ■ SCHEDULE ONE: This schedule includes drugs such as marijuana, heroin and LSD. These drugs can not be used for any reason — recreational or medical — because they have no acknowledged medical I benefit. ■ SCHEDULE TWO: This schedule includes drugs such as cocaine and morphine. These drugs are illegal for recreational use but are allowed for specific medical purposes. They have acknowledged medical benefits. £ launch its own investigation into the ques tion of whether marijuana has medical benefits headed by the drug czar himself, retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffery. While it is important that the potential medical uses of marijuana are investigated, the drug czar is far from the best choice to run the investigation. It’s hard to imagine that the man in charge of the war on drugs will pre sent the most unbiased information on marijua na. Instead of sending in the FBI to lock up doc tors while the drug czar researches the benefits of marijuana, why not seriously consider changing marijuana to a schedule two drug so it can legally be pre scribed. This would not make it legal for recre ational use. It would still be an illegal drug with out a doctor’s prescrip tion, just like cocaine. If n independent committee is formed to finally decide if marijuana has medical benefits, this whole fiasco could be put behind us once and for all. According to the American Civil Liber ties Union, 79 percent of the American people support medical marijuana. So in stead of fighting the will of the people, the government should set out to find some real answers. Only then will the people on either side of the issue be satisfied. Right now, the main obstacle in getting some real answers on the benefits of mari juana is the government’s paranoia over drugs. Even though most people agree that marijuana is no more damaging than alco hol, many people are scared to consider using it for medical reasons because it is considered to be in the same class as drugs like heroin that are far more damaging. Af ter being called “soft” on drugs throughout the election, it is not surprising to see Pres ident Clinton take a hardline stance on this issue. But the issue at hand is medical uses for marijuana. Not legalization. Using marijuana for medical purposes does not mean it will soon be available at your local drug store. Cocaine is used for medical purposes, but you don’t see any one worrying about legalizing coke. There is no reason to suspect these propositions to have any more impact on legalizing marijuana for non-medical purposes. What’s at stake here is the state of mind of a small portion of the population that gets some relief from the medical use of marijuana. We owe it to these people to get some real answers on the drug. And real answers require a real, unbiased analysis of the benefits of marijuana. If, in fact, it is found that marijuana can provide these people with some relief, the government should change it to a schedule two drug right away. It won’t mean the first step to ward legalization, but it could be the first step toward relief for many people. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. LETTERS Integrity important Brian Diamond’s column on Jan. 7 was sheer bunk. He has a weird way of looking at “ethics and integrity" in Congress and thinks it’s all “pure poli tics.” It’s all of the above. If Diamond would remember the Speaker of the House is third in line to be president in case of emergency, he may want to re think “integrity.” I do care that Gingrich is a consum mate liar and schemer who planned his Go-Pac and tax-deductible college course to make millions for his capture of the House by Republicans. He is not “naive”! He succeeded in raising those mil lions to advance his freshman zealots for the 104th Congress — and to raise a lot of hell. He did not succeed quite as planned. So, now we have him as Speaker again by a minimal margin, a lot of ill-will and as damaged goods. Brian Diamond needs to think a lit tle more clearly on ethics in politics and why the American people are so disenchanted with dishonest politi cians and have given up voting. In his eyes were Watergate and the Iran/Con tra situation — all “pure politics” — and therefore excusable? Hilde Cherry Eugene LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor must be typed, double spaced and include the author’s name, signature, and phone number. The identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted. Letters must be limited to 250 words or less. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length, clarity, grammar or style. CORRECTION In the Jan. 8 edition of the Emerald, four students were misidentified in the "Reader Voices” section on page 2. Senior Heidi Marshall, Junior Jesse Clark, Sophomore Ely Janis and Freshman Laura Glatze had in correct photos above their names. The Emerald regrets the error. PO BOX 3159. EUGENE. OREGON 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emer ald operates independently of the University with offices at Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property The unlawful removal or use of pa pers is prosecutable by law. Editor-in-Chief: Steven Asbury Managing Editor Thom Schoenborn Night Editor Sarah Klckler Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Eric Collins Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor. Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Laura Cadiz, editor. Benjamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, Brian Diamond, editors. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator. Student Activities: Angie Suchy, editor. Autumn DePoe, Dana Williamson Sports: Mark McTyre, editor. Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor. Chris Hansen, Ryan Frank, Ryan Halvorsen Copy Desk: Sarah Kickler, copy chief. Mike Schmierbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor. Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor. 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