Are the Proponents of Medical Marijuana Their Own Worst Enemy?

As one of the provisions of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, marijuana was placed into the category of a Schedule I substance. What does that mean? It means that the potential for abuse of marijuana was considered to be prohibitively elevated while affording little evidence of having any useful medicinal properties. It was this categorization that resulted in marijuana in becoming even more restricted than such "harder" drugs as cocaine or morphine. While it is certainly true that both cocaine and morphine have been equally criminalized, it is also true that both are regularly prescribed by doctors and used by patients in one form or another. In the 1980s part of Reagan's "Just Say No" approach to the massive drug problem in America was the passage of more stringent legislation and penalties for growing or possessing marijuana. Since then, there has been a boiling controversy-some might even describe it as a frying controversy-over whether marijuana does or does not actually have any legitimate medicinal properties. As a result, support is more widespread than ever for a refashioning of the laws that prohibit the use of marijuana so that its medical benefits can be of use for those with no other outlet. Proponents often point to a reactionary government and a not so stealthy campaign against them as the biggest obstacles to their goal. In fact, the proponents of medical marijuana legalization should probably look in the mirror to find the biggest hindrance to their plans.