estesj
Well-Known Member
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]May 2006[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Smoked Marijuana is Not Medicine
Marijuana is Dangerous to the User and Others
Dependency and Treatment
Marijuana as a Precursor to Other Drugs
Mental and Physical Health Issues Related to Marijuana Use
Delinquent Behaviors and Drugged Driving
Marijuana and Incarceration
The Foreign Experience
The Netherlands
Switzerland
Canada
United Kingdom
The Legalization Lobby
Still, Theres Good News
Appendix A: Acronyms
Endnotes [/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] In 2001, the Supreme Court affirmed Congresss 1970 judgment about marijuana in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative et al., 532 U.S. 438 (2001), which held that, given the absence of medical usefulness, medical necessity is not a defense to marijuana prosecution. Furthermore, in Gonzales v. Raich, 125 S.Ct. 2195 (2005), the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the authority of Congress to regulate the use of potentially harmful substances through the federal Controlled Substances Act includes the authority to regulate marijuana of a purely intrastate character, regardless of a state law purporting to authorize "medical" use of marijuana. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] The DEA and the federal government are not alone in viewing smoked marijuana as having no documented medical value. Voices in the medical community likewise do not accept smoked marijuana as medicine:[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The DEA Position On Marijuana[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Table of Contents[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Smoked Marijuana is Not Medicine
Marijuana is Dangerous to the User and Others
Dependency and Treatment
Marijuana as a Precursor to Other Drugs
Mental and Physical Health Issues Related to Marijuana Use
Delinquent Behaviors and Drugged Driving
Marijuana and Incarceration
The Foreign Experience
The Netherlands
Switzerland
Canada
United Kingdom
The Legalization Lobby
Still, Theres Good News
Appendix A: Acronyms
Endnotes [/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The DEA Position On Marijuana[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] The campaign to legitimize what is called "medical" marijuana is based on two propositions: that science views marijuana as medicine, and that DEA targets sick and dying people using the drug. Neither proposition is true. Smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of science it is not medicine and it is not safe. DEA targets criminals engaged in cultivation and trafficking, not the sick and dying. No state has legalized the trafficking of marijuana, including the twelve states that have decriminalized certain marijuana use.1 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]SMOKED MARIJUANA IS NOT MEDICINE[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] There is no consensus of medical evidence that smoking marijuana helps patients. Congress enacted laws against marijuana in 1970 based in part on its conclusion that marijuana has no scientifically proven medical value. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the federal agency responsible for approving drugs as safe and effective medicine based on valid scientific data. FDA has not approved smoked marijuana for any condition or disease. The FDA noted that "there is currently sound evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful," and "that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use."2[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] In 2001, the Supreme Court affirmed Congresss 1970 judgment about marijuana in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative et al., 532 U.S. 438 (2001), which held that, given the absence of medical usefulness, medical necessity is not a defense to marijuana prosecution. Furthermore, in Gonzales v. Raich, 125 S.Ct. 2195 (2005), the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the authority of Congress to regulate the use of potentially harmful substances through the federal Controlled Substances Act includes the authority to regulate marijuana of a purely intrastate character, regardless of a state law purporting to authorize "medical" use of marijuana. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] The DEA and the federal government are not alone in viewing smoked marijuana as having no documented medical value. Voices in the medical community likewise do not accept smoked marijuana as medicine:[/SIZE][/FONT]
