"Experts"

Since there are two sides to every story i have included statements from both opposition to and supporters of medical marijuana.

"The American Public Health Association:

1. Encourages research of the therapeutic properties of various cannabinoids and combinations of cannabinoids
2. Encourages research on alternative methods of administration to decrease the harmful effects related to smoking; and
3. 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."

-- American Public Health Association
Medical Marijuana Policy Statement
Jan. 1995

"The American Medical Association (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."

-- American Medical Association
Official Policy Statement
June 2001

Both of these policies are from expert organizations in the field of medicine. Notice how both call for further study of marijuana for medical use. The APHA also calls for legalized use and further study the AMA contradicts itself in its last sentence of the statement. If marijuana were to remain a Schedule I drug it by definition is not open for study under any circumstances.

"The evidence in this record [9-6-88 ruling] clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record."

-- Judge Francis L. Young
DEA Administrative Law Judge
Administrative ruling on Petition to Reschedule Marijuana
Sep. 1988

"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."

-- John Walters
Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Syndicated editorial
Mar. 2002

It is hard to dispute the similarities between the statement above and any statement related to alcohol and cigarettes. Yet one is under prohibition and the others remain legal and convenient. Also think how often have you heard anyone talk about cigarettes having health benefits.

"While it is not possible with existing data to determine conclusively that state medical marijuana laws caused the documented declines in adolescent marijuana use, the overwhelming downward trend strongly suggests that the effect of state medical marijuana laws on teen marijuana use has been either neutral or positive, discouraging youthful experimentation with the drug."

-- Mitch Earleywine, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany
Karen O’Keefe, Esq.
Attorney & Legislative Analyst, Marijuana Policy Project
Report, "Marijuana Use by Young People:
The Impact of State Medical Marijuana Laws"
Sep. 2005

"By characterizing the use of illegal drugs as quasi-legal, state-sanctioned, Saturday afternoon fun, legalizers destabilize the societal norm that drug use is dangerous. They undercut the goals of stopping the initiation of drug use to prevent addiction.... Children entering drug abuse treatment routinely report that they heard that 'pot is medicine' and, therefore, believed it to be good for them."

-- Andrea Barthwell, MD
Former Deputy Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
Chicago Tribune editorial
Feb. 17, 2004

These last two statements are straight forward but it should be observed who made each.

From The Drug Project.

Deaths in the United States in a typical year are as follows:

• Tobacco kills about 400,000
• Alcohol kills about 80,000
• Workplace accidents kill 60,000
• Automobiles kill 40,000
• Cocaine kills about 2,500
• Heroin kills about 2,000
• Aspirin kills about 2,000
• Marijuana kills 0

From The National Center On Addiction And Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

The Califano Report

Drug Prisoners

• 1,360,000 Drug Prisoners in America
• 1.7 million Americans are incarcerated in prisons or jails, more per capita than any other nation.
• Nearly 80% of all prisoners in America are for drug related offenses.
• Ten million people have been arrested for marijuana since 1965.