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November 29, 2004
The Morality of The Chronic

The Supreme Court today heard arguments in a medical marijuana case. The suit is being presented as a state's rights issue, as some voters in some states have passed laws allowing the medical use of marijuana, which is against federal law.

I'm no Constitutional lawyer, but if you ask me, this is an easy one. State's rights win in my opinion, the federal government having no legitimate power to interfere with the peoples' right to enact these kinds of laws.

But, as Dave Pell points out, this issue is being framed by the right as a morality issue, and we should really let them frame it that way. The issue here is compassion for the sick and dying, not drugs. They propose that because of some silly across-the-board federal ban, people with debilitating illness should not be allowed access to a substance that makes their lives more bearable. Is that the morality they're talking about? Is that what they're trying to teach their children? That it's okay to sit by and let someone suffer if the easing of their suffering would involve them using a substance that has been deemed ""immoral"?

In the final analysis, the restriction of certain types of drugs is completely arbitrary and idiotic, particularly in as prescription drug-addicted a country as this one. Pell puts it simply and perfectly, "if Pfizer had invented pot, we'd never have this debate."

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