VOLCANIC ASH

By David Shapiro

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision against medical use of marijuana reflects the split personality of the ruling social conservatives in Washington when it comes to matters of individual and states' rights.

Philosophically, the conservatives claim to be champions of personal freedoms and local decision-making.

But when it comes to issues involving perceptions of moral character and their own religious beliefs, they're quick to dictate national behavior in the most private areas of our lives — and in ways that are inherently inconsistent.

For instance, the conservatives oppose assisted suicide, implying that we owe it to God and country to extend our lives as long as possible no matter how painful and lacking in quality life may become in the face of intractable disease.

Yet they also oppose medical marijuana and wider use of stronger painkillers that could make the most serious diseases a little more bearable, especially as the end of life nears.

It's as though they assign sufferers a moral obligation to ignore available remedies and simply tough out severe pain as some kind of national character-building exercise.

Obviously, the people advocating these policies have never themselves suffered the unrelenting and unbearable pain that turns patients to marijuana and more powerful forms of relief.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision upends medical marijuana laws in 11 states, including Hawai'i, by allowing federal agents to prosecute users of medical marijuana and doctors who prescribe it even when its use is legal under state law.

The ruling was sought by the Bush administration after its aggressive political campaign to dissuade local voters from approving medical marijuana in the first place, claiming it is a "Trojan horse" that will lead to legalization of more dangerous drugs.

This fear hasn't borne out in Hawai'i and other states that have legalized pot for health purposes since 1996.

Federal drug enforcement authorities also have taken an increased interest in narcotic-based prescription painkillers such as morphine, intimidating doctors with threats to pull their licenses or even put them in prison if they are deemed to be too liberal in dispensing painkillers.

As a result, some doctors have become timid in prescribing legal medications that suffering patients need to carry on normal lives.

The focus on marijuana and legal prescription painkillers by federal drug authorities represents horribly misplaced priorities as they make little progress in halting the spread of destructive illicit drugs such as crystal methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

Abuse of medical marijuana and prescription painkillers is an infinitesimal part of the illegal drug trade compared to the international cartels that seem to ship their deadly wares to the United States with impunity.

As if longtime narcotics trouble spots such as Colombia aren't enough to worry about, there's evidence that a major player in the worldwide drug trade is sprouting right under the noses of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

It'll be interesting to see how aggressive federal agents get in using the authority granted by the Supreme Court to prosecute local patients who use medical marijuana and doctors who prescribe it.

The vast majority of drug cases are handled by local law enforcement, which is still bound by state law where medical marijuana is legal.

But with any threat of prosecution hanging over their heads, doctors will almost certainly stop writing the prescriptions that make medical marijuana legal in Hawai'i.

Justice John Paul Stevens made the sensible suggestion that Congress pass legislation authorizing states to legalize medical marijuana if they see fit, ending federal jurisdiction.

But there's little chance that the Washington ideologues will make such a gesture of respect for individual and states' rights.

David Shapiro, a veteran Hawai'i journalist, can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net.