 | Cannabis Inquiry: Medical Marijuana a step toward law reform |
 By Phil Saxby.
NORML News Winter 2003
Three years after the Health Select Committee was asked to deal with the legal status of cannabis, it still could not agree on what to say and decided the issue should be sent to another committee.
Yet, despite its failure on the key issue, the committee did make some progress on legal status. Its report recommended to the Government that it "pursue the possibility of supporting the prescription of clinically-tested cannabis products for medicinal purposes."
Committee members were surprisingly in agreement on the medicinal use of cannabis. United Future and National have been outspoken on not changing the legal status of cannabis, but both parties gave cautious support to medicinal use. Does this mean that they are weakening in their determination to keep the ban on cannabis?
Not much. National MP Lynda Scott was quick to oppose any suggestion that medicinal use might open the door to a general toleration of cannabis use. United Future MP Judy Turner told the Independent that its support for medical use was "not at the discretion of users to self-medicate".
These MPs and their parties are willing to agree only to the most limited medicinal use. Perhaps they hope to quarantine the legal use of marijuana within strict medical parameters.
Yet, even this small concession is a step towards reform. The truth is out - cannabis has medicinal properties. No matter how strongly National and United Future protest, they themselves have conceded that fact. The law which was used to prosecute sick people for taking their preferred medicine stands condemned even by its strongest supporters. Used as a herbal remedy, cannabis can hardly be condemned by any Court.
Public tolerance of cannabis use is already high, say the opinion polls. Allowing medicinal use, even in limited ways, must ultimately discredit the scare stories of the remaining prohibitionists like cartoonist Tom Scott. And best of all, some needless suffering may be relieved.
|
|
|
|
| |
| Login |
|
You can register for some special extra features. | |
| Article Rating |
Average Score: 1
Votes: 1
| |
|
