Care to share with the rest of us?

STEVE SMITH

The end of this and all future columns will no longer include my

e-mail address. That contact information was placed there to

encourage readers to send me leads on stories that I otherwise would

have missed.

But over the past few weeks, it has become a way for readers to

comment on something I’ve written without having to share their

thoughts with the rest of us. Most of those thoughts -- in fact,

nearly all of them -- are really good, even the ones from those who

disagree with me.

One example was an e-mail I received blasting me for recommending

that the city of Costa Mesa continue to allow the use of fireworks.

The writer did not call me any names, but used some reasonable

judgment to make her case.

But it was the reaction to the medical marijuana column that

forced the decision to drop the e-mail address.

In addition to the three letters that were published Friday in the

Daily Pilot, I received three e-mails. Each of them was a gem and

not, coincidentally, because they agreed with my position. One of

them provided important additional information that I will share with

you today.

One question raised here Wednesday was why medical marijuana had

to be given through a dispensary instead of through a drug store as

is the case with other -- and many more harmful -- drugs.

That riddle was solved by one e-mailer who wrote: “The prescribing

and dispensing of drugs is controlled under federal law. A Schedule I

drug such as marijuana cannot be dispensed by prescription nor sold

through federally monitored channels. This is why it must be

‘recommended’ by a physician rather than prescribed. Until the

federal government stops politicizing the suffering of thousands of

sick people, the California system of home growing and dispensaries

is the only route that will avoid the arrest and prosecution of

doctors and pharmacists.”

So there you have it. Now, I am certain that you are wondering

just what a Schedule I drug is. Just so happens that a Schedule I

drug is the most strictly controlled by the government. Medical

marijuana happens to be in the elite class with ecstasy, heroin, LSD

and raw opium.

That classification is the result of some ancient beliefs about

the drug.

And make no mistake about it, medical marijuana is a drug. Which

is why many us of who propose its use for those in need do not also

support the legalization of its cousin, pot. Two distinct drugs, two

distinct reasons for their use.

All of the arguments I made last Wednesday seemed to me to be

reasonable, and they seemed to be reasonable to the five people who

responded either directly to me or to the Pilot.

But Mike Clifford of Costa Mesa took the unfortunate step of

making his objections personal. Instead of arguing against the facts

I presented, Clifford wondered “if Steve Smith has partaken too much

marijuana himself to have the opinion he does.”

That’s nice. Perhaps Clifford would say the same of former

Secretary of State George Schultz, conservative columnist William F.

Buckley and a host of other conservatives who have questioned the

nation’s marijuana laws.

But the local discussion is not about all marijuana laws, it is

about a local medical marijuana dispensary. It is not about

legalizing another drug, as Clifford thinks, but of providing a legal

source for a medication that has already been approved by the voters

of this state.

This is an important point. California’s voters have already

approved the distribution of medical marijuana under controlled

circumstances. In fact, every state that has had a medical marijuana

question on its ballot has approved it. According to multiple polls,

about 80% of Americans support the controlled distribution of medical

marijuana.

Then there are the narrow-minded points of view of the 20% of

Americans, people like Clifford, who want to deny a proven remedy for

cancer chemotherapy simply because they don’t want another drug

around, even one that works.

And medical marijuana does work. It is, in fact, probably the most

tested drug in history if you consider that more than 100 million

Americans have been estimated to have tried it. Unlike, say, Viagra,

which has been promoted for the very important task of improving male

erection but is now under suspicion for a serious ocular side effect.

Or Vioxx, which was tested and approved, then pulled from the market

for its serious side effects.

No, I was not high when I wrote that column, nor was Buckley high

when he wrote any of his series of columns supporting medical

marijuana. In one column, Buckley told the story of his friend Peter

McWilliams, who was forbidden to smoke medical marijuana to relieve

his pain from his chemotherapy and ordered instead to take Marinol, a

synthetic substitute. McWilliams reported that the Marinol worked

only one-third of the time. When it didn’t, he vomited. One day, he

vomited while in his bathtub, choked and died. All because one judge

would not let him use a proven remedy to ease his pain.

You don’t have to be high or a flaming liberal to see the

absurdity of this debate. Both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach need to

forget the stigma of the ‘60s and make medical marijuana available to

those who have a need for it. It is quite simply the right thing to

do.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].