Medical Marijuana ProCon.org

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PRO (YES) to Medical Marijuana	CON (NO) to Medical Marijuana
1. Overview: Medical Marijuana, around for over 4,000 years, is a significant and perplexing issue to many Americans. 34 states and Washington, D.C. -- representing over 70% of the U.S. population -- have laws on their books that allow or are otherwise favorable to medical marijuana. The depth of the debate can be seen by the following 10 main pros and cons on medical marijuana . To see some of the physicians that are pro and con medical marijuana, click here. To see some of the health organizations that are pro and con medical marijuana, click here. Votes and polls across America support medical marijuana, while the federal government and many state and local governments continue to enforce laws stating that the use or possession of marijuana for any purpose is a crime.
Marijuana should be a medical option now because:	Marijuana should not be a medical option now because:
A. Risks
Its medical value exceeds its risks. The DEA's Administrative Judge Young stated in 1988: "In medical treatment 'safety' is a relative term. A drug deemed 'safe' for use in treating a life-threatening disease might be 'unsafe' if prescribed for a patient with a minor ailment… Safety is measured against the consequences a patient would confront in the absence of therapy. The determination of 'safety' is made in terms of whether a drug's benefits outweigh its potential risks and the risks of permitting the disease to progress." 1988 F. Young Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, M.D., stated in 2002: "...tobacco, through its direct physical effects, kills many thousands of people every year. So does alcohol. And it is easy to fatally overdose on alcohol, just as you can fatally overdose on prescription drugs, or even over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin or acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol). I don't believe that anyone has ever died from a marijuana overdose." 2002 J. Elders Marijuana has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years, going back to ancient civilizations in Egypt, India and Africa. In all that time, up to and including the present day, there has never been a report of a fatality directly due to the consumption of marijuana. In contrast, over 1,000 people die annually in the U.S. from an overdose of our most common non-prescription drug, aspirin. In addition, many thousands of deaths result from legal prescription drugs. In fact, Consumer Reports magazine stated in May 1997: "Consumer Reports believes that, for patients with advanced AIDS and terminal cancer, the apparent benefits some derive from smoking marijuana outweigh any substantiated or even suspected risks. In the same spirit the FDA uses to hasten the approval of cancer drugs, federal laws should be relaxed in favor of states' rights to allow physicians to administer marijuana to their patients on a caring and compassionate basis." 1997 Consumer Reports Denis Petro, M.D., in his 1997 paper "Pharmacology and Toxicity of Cannabis," wrote: "...the amount of smoked marijuana required to reach lethality is on the order of one to two thousand cigarettes. The physical impossibility of a fatal overdose using smoked cannabis is obvious." 1997 D. Petro	Its risks are still unclear. It's not compassionate to allow sick people to use dangerous drugs that might harm them. That's why the United States has an FDA research and approval process. The FDA states in its August 2004 website section titled "Protecting Consumers, Promoting Public Health": "At the heart of all FDA's regulatory activities is a judgment about whether a new product's benefits to users will outweigh its risks. Science-based, efficient risk management allows the agency to provide the most health promotion and protection at the least cost to the public. No regulated product is totally risk-free, so these judgments are important. FDA will allow a product to present more of a risk when its potential benefit is great -- especially for products used to treat serious, life-threatening conditions." 1997 FDA During 2002, marijuana was the second most frequently mentioned illicit drug (cocaine was the first) reported to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) by emergency departments (ED) nationwide. According to DAWN, there were 119,474 marijuana ED mentions during the year, up from 110,512 in 2001. While marijuana ED mentions were statistically unchanged from 2001 to 2002, they have risen 164% since 1995 when there were 45,259 mentions and 24% since 2000 when there were 96,426 mentions. Approximately 16% of the marijuana ED mentions in 2002 involved patients ages 6–17, 31% involved 18–25 year-olds, 21% involved 26–34 year-olds, and 32% involved individuals 35 years of age and older. DAWN also collects information on deaths involving drug abuse that were identified and submitted by 128 death investigation jurisdictions in 42 metropolitan areas across the United States. Cannabis ranked among the 10 most common drugs in 16 cities, including Detroit (74 deaths), Dallas (65), and Kansas City (63). Marijuana is very often reported in combination with other substances; in metropolitan areas that reported any marijuana in drug abuse deaths, an average of 79 percent of those deaths involved marijuana and at least one other substance. It is known that marijuana contains some of the same, and sometimes even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in tabacco smoke. Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day. When you go to a pharmacy, you do not get leaves to burn; you haven't for 100 years. To do so is unscientific. The American Medical Association recommended in June 2001 that marijuana be retained in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, signifying that it believes it has no medical use in the United States.
B. Votes and Polls
There is little or no evidence the voters were hoodwinked by medical marijuana supporters. For example: Proposition 215 (passed in California in 1996) was the culmination of more than three years of legislative activity in Sacramento. The California legislature passed one resolution and two bills in 1993, 1994, and 1995 regarding medical marijuana. The 1995 bill -- vetoed by then Gov. Pete Wilson -- became the basis for Prop. 215 (approved by 56% of the voters), which were written primarily by medical patients. Maryland's law was initiated by the state legislature and signed into law on 5/22/03 by the state's republican governor. Americans overwhelmingly want medical marijuana to be legal, a desire which is in direct opposition to federal law and its actions. 34 states and Washington, D.C. -- representing over 70% of the US population -- have decriminalized (made it legal for medical use in a state) or are otherwise favorable to medical marijuana. Votes and polls of American public opinion since 1975 have unceasingly showed that over 70% of Americans think medical marijuana should be allowed. There is therefore a considerable gap between what a majority of the American people want and our federal government's actions.	There are pockets of well-funded individuals and organizations in this country that want to pursue a political agenda by legalizing what they call "medical" marijuana. They have had a boost by funding slick ads and misleading the electorate in 8 states that hoodwinked the voters into believing false claims. Many of these organizations supporting this effort have in fact been trying to legalize marijuana and other drugs, including heroin and LSD, for over 20 years. The leaders of these organizations are by and large not from the medical community. Voters should not circumvent recognized scientific and medical processes by deciding what constitutes safe and effective medicine via the ballot box. The established processes of the Food and Drug Administration are the foundation on which medicine is defined in this country; together, the medical and scientific communities have established procedures through which all drugs must pass before they can be considered safe, sound and effective "medicine". Marijuana has yet to be approved through this process. There are numerous safer and more effective anti-nausea agents, including Marinol, Compazine, Tigan, Metaclopramide, Zofran and Kytril, among others.
C. Legality
A new Maryland law, signed by conservative Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich [May, 2003], sharply reduces the punishment for people who use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Legislation introduced by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) to bar federal raids on medical-marijuana patients and providers received 152 votes, up from the 93 votes which opposed a condemnation of medical-marijuana laws in 1998. The U.S. Supreme Court recently let stand a lower court ruling barring the U.S. government from punishing doctors who recommend or prescribe medical marijuana. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 6, 2005 in Raich v. Ashcroft that Congress’ Commerce Clause authority includes the power to prohibit the local cultivation and use of marijuana in compliance with California law, it had no effect on state law: "Today's [6/6/05] ruling does not overturn California law permitting the use of medical marijuana, but it does uphold a federal regulatory scheme that contradicts the will of California voters and limits the right of states to provide appropriate medical care for its citizens. Although I am disappointed in the outcome of today's decision, legitimate medical marijuana patients in California must know that state and federal laws are no different today than they were yesterday." 6/6/05 California Attorney General	Drugs are not approved for medicine until there is a consensus of the national community of experts. At this time there is no consensus on this issue. There is no legitimate medical use whatsoever for marijuana. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent in charge Javier Pena stated in a 7/28/05 article "Bush's War on Pot" published in Rolling Stone magazine: "We can't disregard the federal law. The Supreme Court reiterates that we have the power to enforce the federal drug laws -- even if they are not popular. We're going to continue to do that." 7/28/05 DEA The U.S. Department of Justice stated in their Memorandum of Law in opposition to Plaintiffs-Appellants in Raich v. Ashcroft before U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit: Because, as we have shown, the Controlled Substances Act is a proper exercise of Congress' authority under Article I..., any challenge to that authority on the ground that it infringes on rights founded in state law and reserved by the Ninth Amendment (or Tenth Amendment) necessarily 'must fail.'" 12/10/02 U.S. Dept. of Justice
D. International
The U.S. is increasingly alone in the world in prosecuting medical marijuana users. In the Netherlands cannabis is now available as a prescription drug at pharmacies. Belgium allows the medical use of marijuana and is considering permitting citizens to grow small amounts. The Australian and New Zealand governments are considering approving the medical use of marijuana. Canada provides medical marijuana through its health-care program. Canada has jurisdiction over its own domestic affairs, and Canada's Constitution bars it from entering into an international agreement that violates its citizens' constitutional rights. Since a number of decisions have established the right of Canadians to use pot for medical uses, they can't be denied the drug by international treaties.	The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) released resolutions that officially expressed the group's opposition to the propositions in Arizona and California to legalize marijuana. The 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, says Kemal Kurspahic, spokesman for the UN's Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, does not allow marijuana for any medical use at this time. "While using marijuana for medical purposes could not be excluded, the scientific research in several countries so far has not produced conclusive evidence of medical usefulness of marijuana. As long as there is no scientific evidence approved, for example, by the World Health Organization, marijuana remains listed among strictly controlled substances as stated in the convention." 1/02 United Nations
2. Medical Value:
The fact that marijuana has medical value, is shown by:	The fact that marijuana has no medical value, is shown by:
A. IOM Report
The federal government's 1999 IOM Report which, in part, recommends the use of smoked marijuana for some patients under certain conditions. Page 179 of that report reads: "Recommendation: Short-term use of smoked marijuana (less than six months) for patients with debilitating symptoms (such as intractable pain or vomiting) must meet the following conditions:..." and concludes on the same page: "Until a nonsmoked rapid-onset cannibinoid drug delivery system becomes available, we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting... *[in those patients who have not responded to standard approved therapy]." * [The above bracketed and bolded words were suggested to MedMJProCon on 2/26/02 by John A. Benson, Jr., MD, Co-Principal Investigator of the 1999 IOM report].	The federal government's 1999 IOM Report concluded that there is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication. The study concluded that smoking marijuana is not recommended for the treatment of any disease condition. The U.S. DEA told ProCon.org: "Any determination of a drug's valid medical use must be based on the best available science undertaken by medical professionals. The Institute of Medicine (under the National Academy of Sciences) conducted a comprehensive study in 1999 to assess the potential health benefits of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. The study concluded that smoking marijuana is not recommended for the treatment of any disease condition. In addition, the effects of cannabinoids studied are generally modest, and in most cases, there are more effective medications currently available. For those reasons, the Institute of Medicine concluded that there is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication." 1/2/02 U.S. DEA
B. Medical Experts
Many physicians treating AIDS and 12% to 44% of clinical oncologists surveyed in two different polls, recommend smoked marijuana to some patients to relieve the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have found that patients with HIV infection taking protease inhibitors do not experience short-term adverse virologic effects from using cannabis. The New York AIDS Coalition (NYAC) noted: "Among physicians specializing in AIDS/HIV, there is a widespread acknowledgement that marijuana represents a significant treatment component for those who have advanced-state HIV symptoms, as well as for those with symptoms caused by the multiple-drug therapies used to control HIV." NYAC The journal Nature Reviews: Cancer noted: "...the active components of Cannabis sativa and their derivatives -- exert palliative effects in cancer patients by preventing nausea, vomiting and pain and by stimulating appetite. In addition, these compounds have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumour cells in culture and animal models by modulating key cell-signalling pathways. Cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemotherapies." Nature Reviews: Cancer Kate Scannell, M.D., wrote on 2/16/03 in the San Francisco Chronicle: "From working with AIDS and cancer patients, I repeatedly saw how marijuana could ameliorate a patient's debilitating fatigue, restore appetite, diminish pain, remedy nausea, cure vomiting and curtail down-to-the-bone weight loss. ... almost every sick and dying patient I've ever known who's tried medical marijuana experienced a kinder death." K Scannell	Most oncologists do not support using crude marijuana. Only 12% of oncologists surveyed ever recommended marijuana to their patients. Only 1% of those oncologists had recommended this usage more than 5 times per year. Even before better drugs were available, the majority of oncologists had never recommended marijuana to even one patient. This is not very significant since the "one patient" may have been a terminally ill marijuana addict. Yet the media portrayed this statistic as an overwhelming endorsement of marijuana as medicine! The majority of oncologists do not believe that marijuana is better than THC pills. Donald P. Tashkin, M.D., in his article "Effects of Smoked Marijuana on the Lung and Its Immune Defenses: Implications for Medicinal Use in HIV-Infected Patients"; published in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, Vol. 1, No. 3/4, 2001, pp. 87-102, stated: "Frequent marijuana use can cause airway injury, lung inflammation and impaired pulmonary defense against infection. The major potential pulmonary consequences of habitual marijuana use of particular relevance to patients with AIDS is superimposed pulmonary infection, which could be life threatening in the seriously immonocompromised patient." 2001 JCT Barry Dworkin, M.D., wrote on 9/9/03 in the Ottawa Citizen: "There are too many unknown variables and known serious consequences that increase the risk of patient harm contravening the "do no harm" tenet of medical care. Marijuana's legislated use as a prescription drug circumvents standard drug safety protocols and is not the standard of care. There is a safer drug alternative for some patients that mimics THC's effects." 9/9/03 B Dworkin
C. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The federal government's 1985 FDA approval of the drug dronabinol, branded as Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, the principal psychoactive component of marijuana, shows that the main chemical component of marijuana is medically beneficial. Marinol, which does not work as well as marijuana for many patients, and costs patients about twice as much as medical marijuana purchased from a cannabis (marijuana) club, unless the cost of Marinol is covered by their insurance. The oral dose of Marinol is inappropriate to treat nausea, is poorly absorbed, takes 30-60 minutes to take effect, remains psychoactive for too many hours (8-12) and lacks the anti-inflammatory and other medicinal properties (anti-seizure) of whole cannabis. It makes no sense to prescribe a pill for vomiting and nausea. It is merely thrown up, negating the effort.	Any determination of a drug's valid medical use must be based on the best available science undertaken by medical professionals. Simply put, there is no scientific evidence that qualifies marijuana to be called medicine. Further, there is no support in the medical literature that marijuana, or indeed any medicine, should be smoked as the preferred form of administration. The harms to health are simply too great to ignore. A pharmaceutical product, Marinol, is widely available through prescription. It comes in the form of a pill and is also being studied by researchers for suitability via other delivery methods, such as an inhaler or patch. The active ingredient of Marinol is synthetic THC, which has been found to relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy for cancer patients and to assist with loss of appetite with AIDS patients.
D. Medical Efficacy & Research
There is substantial medical evidence indicating the medical efficacy of marijuana. In a poll of the Deans of 126 U.S. prestigious and accredited M.D.-granting medical schools, over 60% indicated that they believed physicians should have the legal right to recommend or prescribe marijuana to relieve symptoms. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) stated on their website as of 1/05: "Marijuana looks promising enough to recommend that there be new controlled studies done." 1/05 NIH Groups ranging from the American Cancer Society to Kaiser Permanente support access to or research on medical marijuana. The New England Journal of Medicine has backed access to medical marijuana. Lancet Neurology pointed out that marijuana had proved effective against pain in lab tests and could become "the aspirin of the 21st Century." In the journal Brain (Vol. 126, No. 10, 2191-2202, October 2003) researchers at London's Institute of Neurology reported: "In addition to symptom management, cannabis may also slow down the neurodegenerative processes that ultimately lead to chronic disability in multiple sclerosis and probably other diseases." 10/03 Brain WebMD's July 2003 poll of its physician and nurse members found: "Three out of four doctors -- and nine out of 10 nurses -- said they favored decriminalization of marijuana for medical uses." 7/03 Web MD The AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs reported in June 2001 to the AMA House of Delegates: "Until such time as rapid-onset cannabinoid [marijuana] formulations are clinically available, our AMA affirms the appropriateness of compassionate use of marijuana and related cannabinoids in carefully controlled programs designed to provide symptomatic relief of nausea, vomiting, cachexia, anorexia, spasticity, acute or chronic pain, or other palliative effects. Such compassionate use is appropriate when other approved medications provide inadequate relief or are not tolerated, and the protocols provide for physician oversight and a mechanism to assess treatment effectiveness." 6/01 AMA	The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also conducted an extensive scientific and medical evaluation of marijuana as medicine and issued a finding in January 2001 that marijuana (and the tetrahydrocannabinols) should remain as a Schedule I Controlled Substance under the Controlled Substances Act. A Schedule I substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and has a high potential for abuse. HHS based its recommendation on many factors, including that the FDA has not approved a new drug application for marijuana and the fact that the known risks of marijuana use outweigh any potential benefits. The approval of Marinol by the FDA in 1985 showed that synthetic THC was judged by the legal process used to approve medicines to be a safe and effective medicine for the treatment of nausea and vomiting. That is not the same thing as approving marijuana as a medicine. In addition, GW Pharmaceuticals in the U.K. has developed a new cannabis-based medicine for pain. They state: "Sativex, GW’s lead product, is a whole plant medicinal cannabis extract containing Tetranabinex™ extract (tetrahydrocannabinol, 'THC') and Nabidiolex™ extract (cannabidiol, 'CBD') as its principal components. The medicine is administered by means of a spray into the mouth." 1/05 GW Pharmaceuticals The American Medical Association's (AMA) policy on Medical Marijuana, amended June 2001, stated in part: "The AMA calls for further adequate and well-controlled studies of marijuana and related cannabinoids in patients who have serious conditions for which preclinical, anecdotal, or controlled evidence suggests possible efficacy and the application of such results to the understanding and treatment of disease. The AMA recommends that marijuana be retained in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act pending the outcome of such studies." 6/01 AMA There is no possibility of approval of any plant as a medicine to treat any illness, now or ever, because the chemicals in whole plants, to say nothing of the many additional harmful ingredients in smoked marijuana, could not be approved as a medicine.
3. Risks
The question of whether or not marijuana should be a medical option now depends on balancing its medical value against its risks, which can be divided into: Risks of smoking, Other adverse physiological effects, and Its societal effects.
A. Smoking
The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has, since 1978, produced "a contamination-free source of cannabis material with consistent and predictable potency," pre-rolled into cigarettes prior to distribution to patients. While some patients prefer to use marijuana by smoking, there are numerous other methods of delivery, including edible cannabis, vaporization, tinctures, oils and teas. Colin Blakemore, Ph.D. and Leslie Iversen, Ph.D., wrote in an 8/6/01 editorial in U.K.'s The Times: "...there is currently no indisputable evidence for a link with cancer." 8/6/01 C Blakermore & L. Iversen	Smoked marijuana has no reliable dosage. A study published in the June, 1999 Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (JRCMB) (pages 1286-1293) noted: "Marijuana smoking produces inflammation, edema, and cell injury in the tracheobronchial mucosa of smokers and may be a risk factor for lung cancer." 8/6/01 JRCMB The danger of second-hand smoke by marijuana smokers may be just as harmful as second-hand tobacco smoke.
B. Other Adverse Physiological Effects
Non-Smoking Risks: Are the other (non-smoking) adverse effects of marijuana enough to offset its benefits? That question was answered on page 5 of the IOM report, as follows: "Marijuana is not a completely benign substance. It is a powerful drug with a variety of effects. However, except for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range of effects tolerated for other medications." 1999 U.S. IOM Report It is noteworthy that the 2002 drug reference book, The Complete Guide To Prescription & Nonprescription Drugs (pg. 334-335), shows the risks of marijuana and Marinol, other than the risks of smoking, are identical.	Marijuana is too impure to use as a medicine and the side effects (examples are dysphoria, tachycardia, motor and coordination impairment, and introduction of contaminants) are too great for the potential benefits of the maladies it is to be used for. In medical studies, marijuana has been shown to cause a variety of health problems, including cancer, respiratory problems, loss of motor skills, and increased heart rate. Furthermore, marijuana can affect the immune system by impairing the ability of T-cells to fight off infections, demonstrating that marijuana can do more harm than good in people with already compromised immune systems. In January 2004 the head of psychiatry at the U.K.'s Institute of Psychiatry told The [U.K.] Times that inner-city psychiatric services were nearing a crisis point, with up to 80% of all new psychotic cases reporting a history of cannabis use.
C. Societal Risks
Contrary to what some say, there is no scientific evidence that decriminalization increases marijuana use among youths. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which tracks drug use and perceptions by age groups and state, indicates marijuana use has decreased among 12-17 year olds since 1995 and use is not higher among the same age group in decriminalized states than it is nationally. Concurring, on page 102, the IOM report cited a state-by-state comparison on the topic of marijuana use by youth, which stated: "'Monitoring the Future,' the annual survey of values and life-styles of high school seniors, revealed that high school seniors in decriminalized states reported using no more marijuana than did their counterparts in states where marijuana was not decriminalized." The IOM concluded on page 104: "In summary, there is no evidence that the medical marijuana debate has altered adolescents’ perceptions of the risks associated with marijuana use." 1999 U.S. IOM Report Allowing the medical use of marijuana wouldn't even prevent the government from punishing recreational users. After interviewing 37 law-enforcement agencies, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found in November, 2002 that the majority: "...indicated that medical-marijuana laws has had little impact on their law-enforcement activities." 11/02 General Accounting Office U.S. Senior District Judge John L. Kane, Jr., (Colorado) wrote in an opinion editorial printed 4/27/02 in the Rocky Mountain News: "In this darkest of comedies, the government hasn't the slightest notion what message our children are presently receiving. Perhaps we should send a message to our children about the causes of death in the United States. We would have to tell them that tobacco is legal and, at 430,700 deaths per year, is the leading cause of substance-abuse deaths; that alcohol is legal and 110,600 die from it each year; that adverse reactions to legal prescription drugs cause 32,000 fatalities a year; that 30,500 commit suicide; 18,000 are homicide victims; and that 7,600 people die each year from taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin. Of course, we don't want to send them the wrong message that the total number of deaths caused by marijuana is zero." 11/02 J. Kane	Among marijuana's most harmful consequences is its potential role in leading to the use of other illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin. In appealing the Ninth Circuit ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson called the issue one: "of exceptional and continuing importance" since the decision "impairs the Executive's authority to enforce the law in an area vital to the public health and safety."  U.S. Dept. of Justice John Walters, Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy has threatened Canada with intrusive border searches (for lenient marijuana laws), delaying traffic south: "It is my job to protect Americans from dangerous threats.... Smoked marijuana damages the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system. It impairs learning and interferes with memory, perception, and judgment. Smoked marijuana contains cancer-causing compounds and has been implicated in a high percentage of automobile crashes and workplace accidents. Marijuana now surpasses heroin as a reason for an emergency visit. No responsible public official can ignore these facts." J. Walters The British Journal of Psychiatry noted: "...weekly cannabis use marks a threshold for increased risk of later dependence, with selection of cannabis in preference to alcohol possibly indicating an early addiction process." British Journal of Psychiatry The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), on their website published "Statement on Marijuana as Medicine", (updated 3/4/02) which stated: "The federal government must protect public health by preserving the medical-scientific process for determining medicines. We must also protect children from increased marijuana availability and use, preserve drug-free workplaces, and uphold federal law. With drug use by young people increasing, America must not send incorrect information to our youth about the risks of marijuana. The reduction -— not the promotion -— of illicit drugs is a national priority." 3/4/02 ONDCP
4. Summary:
Because many physicians believe that marijuana is the best available treatment for some of their patients, because marijuana produces no unacceptable risks to its users or the community, because it is half the price of the legal drug Marinol (which works less efficiently than marijuana for some patients) and because 70% of the U.S. population wants it as a medical option, marijuana should be a medical option now. Even if it were clear that marijuana caused long term risks to such patients, the risks would be less relevant than immediate relief from their suffering. Kaiser Permanente wrote in 1997: "Medical guidelines regarding the prudent use of marijuana should be established... Unfortunately, clinical research on potential therapeutic uses for marijuana has been difficult to accomplish in the United States, despite reasonable evidence for the efficacy of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and marijuana as anti-emetic and anti-glaucoma agents and the suggestive evidence for their efficacy in the treatment of other medical conditions, including AIDS." 1997 Kaiser Permanente The American Public Health Association (APHA) wrote in 1995 that it "...urges the Administration and Congress to move expeditiously to make cannabis available as a legal medicine where shown to be safe and effective and to immediately allow access to therapeutic cannabis through the Investigational New Drug Program." 1995 APHA	The state voter initiatives undermine the FDA process of protecting the public and creates a medicine by popular vote. Medical use arguments garner public support because they appear harmless and play on the sympathies of the American public. In truth, these issues are peripheral to a greater subversion providing an entry into legalization debates. Proposals to fund medical marijuana research go through the same peer review process available to any other drug research. With a limited amount of funds available, the government can only afford to support the most well-designed and promising studies. Medical marijuana has to stand in line with other research proposals, so that medicine can progress the most for society overall. It is hoped that scientific input on this issue will take it out of the political arena and the state-based referenda process, and place it where it belongs: in the laboratory and in the hands of researchers and medical professionals working to help people in pain. The California Narcotics Officer's Association (CNOA) noted: "The overriding objective behind this [medical marijuana] movement is to allow a minority (less than five percent) of our society to get 'stoned' with impunity. This small minority is willing to put our citizens at risk from all the negative and disastrous effects caused to and by those who are intoxicated. What we don't need in this society is more intoxicated people on our highways, in workplaces, schools, colleges, or in our homes." 1995 CNOA

Thanks to the following for their assistance: American Alliance for Med. Cannabis (Jay Cavanaugh, Ph.D.), Americans For Medical Rights (Bill Zimmerman, Ph.D.), White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (Kevin A. Sabet, Senior Speechwriter), California NORML (Dale Geiringer, J.D.), Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the Drug Reform Coordination Network (Dave Borden), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (Rusty Payne, DEA Public Affairs).