A coalition of Arkansas church groups came out against casino proposals the other day and threw in, for good measure, a blast against the effort to legalize medical marijuana. The churchmen were sure legal pot wasn't necessary because of synthetic drug substitutes for this "gateway" drug.

Perhaps Jerry Cox and the self-assured repressors waving Bibles around ought to read this compelling op-ed from a sitting New York judge battling end-stage pancreatic cancer. Marijuana has been the only thing — the only thing — that has given him an appetite or relief during his long struggle. He comes out as a lawbreaker to help others.

Given my position as a sitting judge still hearing cases, well-meaning friends question the wisdom of my coming out on this issue. But I recognize that fellow cancer sufferers may be unable, for a host of reasons, to give voice to our plight. It is another heartbreaking aporia in the world of cancer that the one drug that gives relief without deleterious side effects remains classified as a narcotic with no medicinal value.

Because criminalizing an effective medical technique affects the fair administration of justice, I feel obliged to speak out as both a judge and a cancer patient suffering with a fatal disease. I implore the governor and the Legislature of New York, always considered a leader among states, to join the forward and humane thinking of 16 other states and pass the medical marijuana bill this year. Medical science has not yet found a cure, but it is barbaric to deny us access to one substance that has proved to ameliorate our suffering

This event, at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Arkansas union ballroom in Fayetteville, could be interesting:

The University of Arkansas Chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), in coordination with University Programs, is hosting a debate between former Princeton Professor/Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance Ethan Nadelmann and former DEA Administrator/US Congressman Asa Hutchinson.

The pair will debate about whether we should continue to fight the War on Drugs or look toward an alternative approach such as legalization. Both speakers bring years of experience and knowledge to the table. Asa Hutchinson held the top position at the DEA from 2001 to 2003. Ethan Nadelmann is the leading voice and leader of the drug policy reform movement in the United States and abroad, he is currently the Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

This will be a reprise of a debate they had on CNN 11 years ago.

Meth isn't only a dangerous to those who use it, it's also more than a little hazardous to the health of those who make the stuff, as seen in this morning's report from the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office of an apparent meth lab explosion at 4424 Lena Lane near Jacksonville last night around 6:30 p.m. Neighbors said they heard a bang, then the home caught fire as several people inside scattered in four to five cars and on foot — including one who left a 200-foot blood trail that officers followed until it disappeared into nearby woods.

At least two people who police say were inside the house when the explosion happened suffered fairly horrific burns and are being treated at UAMS. A report by a Pulaski County Sheriff Deputy who made contact with the burn victims appears after the jump.

I mentioned earlier today some work on a somewhat offbeat marijuana initiative to set up a study of cultivation and use of marijuana.

This is more straightforward. Today, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office approved, after some modifications, a popular name and ballot title for an initiated act to legalize medical use of marijuana. It mirrors initiatives in other states. Polls show that the idea enjoys broad support in Arkansas, but past initiative campaigns have fallen short.

McDaniel modified the title so that it would reflect that marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

A group in support of marijuana law reform will talk about a new initiative this week. It would be an initiated act to authorize a study of the propagation and use of marijuana, but not legalize anything not already legal.

Here's the announcement.

Here's the proposal itself. (Link corrected.)

I see Arkansas legislators haven't given up their view that effective over-the-counter cold medicine is the only reason for the presence of methamphetamine. One legislator, Rep. Marshall Wright, wants to require a prescription to obtain such medicine, because it can be used to make meth. Sen. Percy Malone, a pharmacist, recognizes this idea will add the cost of a doctor's visit — not to mention a miserable delay — to getting a useful, low-cost drug in the mouths of people who need it. But he's willing to make purchase of the medicine open only to Arkansas residents, to stop the supposed huge trafficking by out-of-staters driven to Arkansas to purchase cold pills that are harder to obtain in Mississippi.

Most methamphetamine is now produced outside the U.S. and smuggled in, just like all the other drugs we've tried vainly to stamp out. Lawmakers who think there's a "silver bullet" in making good cold medicine difficult to obtain continue the failed wack-a-mole method of waging the war on drugs.

INTERSTATE COMMERCE CLAUSE ALERT: Can it possibly be constitutional to allow sales of cold and allergy medicines only to Arkansas residents and not to the poor, suffering interstate trucker or other traveler who asks for some Sudafed or Contac at a truck stop drugstore and can't produce an Arkansas ID?

Fox and Republicans (but I repeat myself) are indeed churning up the death panel talk as expected, along with "rationing." I'm for death panels — meaning medically informed decisions about end-of-life care. Rationing? Guess what? We've always had rationing. No services for people without insurance. No insurance for sick people. Bankruptcy by health care. And so on.

Something's missing, though. How come Mike Ross hasn 't already joined the Fox chorus?

A group that advocates legalizing medical marijuana will bring exhibits and advocates to the state Capitol Jan. 12-13 to educate legislators and others on the cause. Details follow:

Remember the item earlier this week about whether the University of Arkansas had or had not made campus punishment for marijuana the same as that for alcohol violations? (Bottom line was that, despite notices that the rules had been equalized, top-level administrators put the kibosh on easing pot penalties.)

Those who backed the rule change aren't happy about it. Their release is on the jump. There will be a protest. That's what college is for, right? (And drinking beer and smoking pot.)

By way of proof that the deal was done, then reversed, students have distributed:

1) The new campus guidelines, now moot.

2) The old sanctions.

Interesting report from KFSM-TV. Penalties for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and alcohol have been equalized at the University of Arkansas. The UA was said, in this KFSM report, to be the first university to take this step. (Alcohol is a legal substance, of course, but there are a range of offenses possible — minor in possession, providing alcohol to a minor, public intoxication and others.)

UPDATE AND CORRECTION: You can apparently put this story down to a student's over-exuberance. Whatever discussions may have been held about an equivalent policy on pot and alcohol, it was not approved by the final authorities. The dissemination of the story prompted an official statement of denial from the UA:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The media have reported that certain changes to the guidelines for marijuana and alcohol sanctions on campus have been equalized. This information is not accurate. No changes have been made to university policies having to do with alcohol or drug violations. While certain revisions to existing policy have been considered by various campus organizations and groups, none of them were ever approved by the university administration.

The university is constantly looking at ways to address student alcohol and drug violations in a comprehensive manner. The sanctioning guidelines for violations are in place to educate students and help them understand that all actions have consequences.

The smoking lamp is NOT lit.