Gonzales v. Raich Reaction:
Public Condemns Medical Marijuana Arrests While Drug Warriors Push On
As newspaper editorial boards and the general public speak out in favor of protecting medical marijuana patients, the federal government's drug warriors vow to continue their increasingly unpopular war.
Reaction from the White House drug czar to the Supreme Court ruling:
"Today's decision marks the end of medical marijuana as a political issue. ... Smoking illegal drugs may make some people 'feel better.' However, civilized societies and modern day medical practices differentiate between inebriation and the safe, supervised delivery of proven medicine by legitimate doctors. For years, pro-drug groups seeking the legalization of marijuana and other drugs have preyed on the compassion of Americans to promote their political agenda and bypass F.D.A.’s rigorous standards which have safeguarded our medical supply for over 100 years."
— Drug Czar John Walters, June 6, 2005
Reaction from Congress' leading prohibitionist, U.S. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN):
"I applaud the Supreme Court's common sense decision. Our federal drug laws are designed to ensure that we have uniform, scientifically-based national health and safety standards for drugs and medicines. We cannot allow the state initiative process to undermine those standards on the basis of political – not scientific – arguments."
— U.S. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), chair of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources Committee chairman (Souder has ignored all science on the issue, including the Institute of Medicine's report and even a U.S. General Accounting Office report he himself requested ... and has advocated mandatory minimum prison sentences for medical marijuana patients.)
Editorials from the nation's leading newspapers:
"The public is open to a different approach. Ten states have passed laws that effectively protect patients using pot for therapeutic needs, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. Another 20 have measures on the books endorsing medical marijuana. According to a 2002 Time/CNN poll, 80 percent of Americans favor the idea ... One president after another, and one drug czar after another, has insisted on treating pot as intolerable for any reason. The policy is an embarrassment based on misinformation and blind ideology. It's time Congress demanded a change."
— Chicago Tribune editorial, June 10, 2005
"If this editorial board were Congress, we would enact a law allowing marijuana to be used for legitimate medical purposes, such as alleviating intense pain for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy ... But we are not Congress – and neither is the Supreme Court. So we cannot be terribly offended by Monday's ruling, however much needless suffering it may cause. Blame for that suffering now lies squarely with Congress and the president. The nation's draconian drug laws have lost a safety valve. Many of today's national leaders have personal experience with the effects of the evil weed. So do many of today's voters. There is much debate about the wisdom of the drug laws. By contrast, there is almost no debate about the cruel stupidity of refusing an exception for medical marijuana. Unless the president and Congress wish to appear (even more) cruel and stupid, they should trump the Supreme Court."
— Los Angeles Times editorial, June 7, 2005
The patients at the heart of the case "are the latest collateral damage in Washington's indiscriminate war on drugs. Raich, an Oakland mother of two, is subject to severe, debilitating pain from an inoperable brain tumor and more than a dozen other ailments. Her desperate measures, seeking relief in using marijuana grown for her at no cost by her two caregivers, caused her to join Monson's court case three years ago — and now could make her also liable to federal prosecution ... It makes you wonder what the majority was smoking."
— USA Today editorial, June 7, 2005
"Congress must step in and legalize medical marijuana, allowing thousands of patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating diseases a way to ease their pain without fear of being jailed."
— San Francisco Chronicle editorial, June 7, 2005
