Talk about political contrasts.

On the one hand, we have a true profile in courage in state Rep. Carly Melin, the DFLer from Hibbing, who is standing up for her convictions and her constituents as she pushes against an intractable opponent for legislation to end Minnesota’s senseless prohibition on medical marijuana.

On the other, we have Gov. Mark Dayton, who has essentially ceded his authority to decide public policy over to a single, powerful group of Minnesotans who have an undisputed financial interest in continuing to deny tens of thousands of Minnesotans and their doctors the ability to treat certain health conditions through the use of medical marijuana.

Not surprisingly, that one group—police unions and other law enforcement associations— have shown no willingness to compromise with Melin and others in the Legislature who feel it’s time to get beyond the “Reefer Madness” mentality that has guided marijuana legislation in the U.S. for far too long. Gov. Dayton has already said he’s happy to serve as the mere puppet of police groups, so law enforcement officials know they don’t have to seek common ground.

Gov. Dayton’s position borders on bizarre, and it’s shockingly hypocritical for a governor who says he believes medical decisions, including a woman’s right to choose, are best left to patients and their doctors.

In opposing Rep. Melin’s medical marijuana bill, law enforcement groups have argued they are unconvinced of the medical efficacy of marijuana. That’s not surprising. For years, cigarette manufacturers remained unconvinced of the health risks of smoking, in large part because they had a financial stake in doing so.

Law enforcement has a similar stake in maintaining harmful drug laws, because such laws provide millions of dollars annually to police budgets in Minnesota, through federal law enforcement grants and property forfeitures.

When Minnesotans have medical questions, they generally don’t consult the police. They talk to doctors, because doctors are qualified to render medical judgments. Police are not, which is why their collective opinion on the medical efficacy of marijuana should be of little interest to the public, and should have even less bearing in the current policy debate.

None of this is meant to criticize law enforcement officials. They have a job to do, and they do it well in most cases.

But their job description does not include the crafting of public policy. That’s a job that’s left to our elected officials, and rightly so. For Gov. Dayton to surrender his authority to any group, particularly one with an obvious financial interest in a matter of public policy, is shocking.

It’s particularly disturbing in the face of the growing awareness within the medical community and the public at large of the beneficial uses of medical marijuana. Close to half of U.S. states now allow doctors to prescribe marijuana as a treatment for a number of health conditions, where the drug has been shown to be effective. Studies have demonstrated that this natural drug can ease the symptoms of chemotherapy and improve appetite for cancer patients. It can also reduce certain types of seizures and relieve pain from a wide range of causes, often with far fewer side effects than other treatments.

It’s no wonder that a majority of Minnesotans now support lifting the prohibition on the use of medical marijuana, according to the latest Minnesota Poll by the Star Tribune. Gov. Dayton should side with the people of Minnesota, and Rep. Carly Melin, and let doctors and their patients make the medical decisions that are right for them. Financially-vested groups should never be given veto power over worthwhile public policy.