Science: The Drug War's Latest Victim

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sun, 21 May 2006 12:14:43 GMT  <== Politics ==> 

Salim Muwakkil at In These Times - marijuana has been scientifically proven to be an effective medicine, but the f.d.a. continues to trumpet the party line. [root]

The war on drugs is an attack on rationality. Reason lost yet another skirmish recently when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on April 20 that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and John P. Walters, the director of national drug control policy (the Drug Czar) oppose the use of medical marijuana. The Times quoted Walters' spokesman Tom Riley, who said the FDA's statement would put to rest what he called "the bizarre public discussion" that has helped legalize medical marijuana. But Riley failed to note that some of that discussion was sparked by an exhaustive DEA investigation into cannabis (the scientific name for marijuana) from 1986 to 1988. The comprehensive study examined evidence from doctors, patients and thousands of documents regarding marijuana's medical utility.

Following a hearing on the study's findings, the DEA's administrative judge Francis L. Young released a ruling on Sept. 6, 1988, that noted, "Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance ..." Marijuana in its natural form, he said, "is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis, marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care."

He recommended that "(The) provisions of the (Controlled Substances) Act permit and require the transfer of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance."

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Isn't it a sign of mental disorder when distorted reasoning is unchanged by empirical evidence? What is it about marijuana that drives our politicians insane?

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