ked marijuana in the past and actually did not like the high. He smoked the marijuana for medical use only (Thompson 149). As of 1997, twenty six states and the District of Columbia have existing laws and resolutions about medical marijuana. Many states allow doctors to prescribe marijuana or are asking the federal government to lift the ban on medical use. In ten states, laws about allowing medical marijuana have either been repealed or expired. Fifteen US states have had no medicinal marijuana laws ever (Weed). The US government opposes current exemptions to anti-marijuana laws and warns physicians that the distribution of marijuana to any patient may result in the loss of federally sanctioned privileges (Berger). There was a case recently in Portland, Oregon in which a doctor was fined heavily by the federal government for the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes (Webster 30). In spite of the fact that the federal government is against medical marijuana, the Institute of Medicine, or IOM, confirmed in a March 1999 report that marijuana is valuable to many patients for whom other medications do not work. IOM’s report urged the federal government to make a commitment to getting medical marijuana research underway. Only one medical marijuana study has been approved since the mid-1980’s, indicating the need for more openness and clearer guidelines for researchers wishing to investigate marijuana. In 1996, voters in both California and Arizona agreed to a bill for marijuana to be legalized for medicinal purposes. These ballot measures exempted doctors and patients from criminal prosecution when marijuana is prescribed for serious conditions. Medical Necessity laws similar to the ballot measures passed by California and Arizona voters were passed by Massachusetts and Ohio legislatures in 1996 (Berger). Former Vice President Dan Quayle does not approve of medical marijuana. He feels that the bill passed ...
