Medical marijuana in the Bronx

Hunts Point has long been a key source of produce for New York City. The terminal market there is billed as the largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market in the world, bringing produce from 49 states and 55 countries.

Now a new leafy green plant is coming to the neighborhood: medical marijuana.

An Orange County-based company that recently won one of five state permits plans to dispense the drug at sites in Hunts Point and elsewhere in New York.

While medical marijuana is a welcome development, Hunts Point is a poor choice to establish a dispensary. An area struggling from a legacy of violent crime and prostitution should not be the laboratory for an untested policy of legal marijuana. Imagine the angry protests if PharmaCannis, the company behind the dispensary, wanted to set up shop in Riverdale. Now consider the lack of community resources in Hunts Point. A double standard clearly informed the decision to establish a marijuana dispensary there.

Legalizing medical marijuana nevertheless represents a step in the right direction for the state. New York should ultimately decriminalize recreational use of the drug, too. The arguments are by now familiar, but bear repeating as the state enters a new era.

The most immediate reason is compassion those who are sick and in pain. A recent study from the American Medical Association found marijuana was an effective treatment for nausea caused by chemotherapy. The drug has also been proven to alleviate pain. When abused, marijuana creates a host of harmful side-effects, but responsible use will greatly improve the lot of countless sick people.