It looks like the battle to keep marijuana out of the hands of the American public has reached another stumbling block.
Recently New Mexico OK’d the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
While a noble idea, it won’t be as successful as legislators might want.
The law allows the use of marijuana for individuals suffering from unbearable symptoms that accompany terminal disease. New Mexico is the 12th state to institute such a law.
But the law may have an adverse affect on the fight to keep the drug completely out of the hands of those who don’t need it. It also could provide fuel for advocates of the drugs mass legalization, regardless of medical necessity.
The element of marijuana that provides the temporary relief is the chemical THG. There should be a concerted effort by researchers to isolate that element and keep marijuana out of society.
Marijuana use can have adverse affects on even those who use it to assuage extreme pain.
Is it really worth the risk?
The advent of such a law leaves the government with a fairly limited amount of options. Either allow marijuana to permeate our society in a legal manner or eradicate its use completely.
While these patients don’t deserve to suffer, there are surely other completely legal drugs that can be used. Allowing them to smoke marijuana begs the question why doesn’t the country really want to legalize the drug. If it’s so harmful, why allow the terminally ill to light up?
These are tough questions to answer. But New Mexico’s move opens the door for more to be asked.
Akeem Anderson for the Editorial Board.