cannabisnews.com: MPP Exposes Flaws in Federal Research Guidelines 





MPP Exposes Flaws in Federal Research Guidelines 
Posted by FoM on December 05, 1999 at 13:48:32 PT
A Sample Letter To The Editor
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
 On December 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implemented its new medicinal marijuana research guidelines. MPP responded with a media campaign to let the public know that HHS's new guidelines are still far too cumbersome. 
MPP's statement urging HHS to modify its new guidelines was signed by Susan Sarandon, Richard Pryor, scientist Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D., former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, best-selling natural health author Andrew Weil, M.D., National Review senior editor Richard Brookhiser, AIDS Action Council, New York State Nurses Association, National Black Police Association, Reagan administration official Lyn Nofziger, and hundreds of other patients, doctors, medical organizations, celebrities, and concerned citizens. MPP also convinced 35 members of Congress and more than 70 state legislators to sign a similar statement. Both Statements, A List Of More Signatures, & MPP's Full Critique Of HHS's Guidelines Are On Line At:http://www.mpp.org/guidelines/ MPP released the statement two days before the guidelines took effect, at a news conference held outside of the HHS building. Several signatories participated. Thanks to the impressive list of signatories, MPP's media efforts were fairly successful, despite strong competition from numerous other major news items the same week. All of the coverage that MPP did garner very clearly conveys MPP's perspective. A United Press International wire service story that is sure to be picked up by dozens of newspapers nationwide. The article begins, "Stars, politicians and scientists Monday said new federal guidelines for medical studies involving marijuana were too strict and undercut scientific research," then continues with several quotes from MPP Director of Communications Chuck Thomas. The government's weak justifications are tacked on at the end. An Associated Press TV segment that ran on several television news programs nationwide, including Las Vegas and Nashville. It shows MPP's news conference, including a medicinal marijuana user crying because the government won't give him legal access. A few mentions on CNN, and an excellent article on CNN's web site. A Boston Globe article that begins, "In an indication of growing public support for legalizing marijuana for medical use, scores of celebrities, health officials, and members of Congress joined yesterday in protesting a new U.S. medical marijuana research policy for lacking compassion and being 'too cumbersome.'" The flavor continues throughout the article, extensively quoting a medicinal marijuana user and noting that HHS "could not be reached for comment." The article subsequently ran in the Bangor Daily News in Maine. An article in the White House Bulletin -- a specialty publication for Washington, D.C.-based government officials, lobbyists, reporters, and policy wonks. The article was very favorable to MPP's position, quoting Chuck Thomas and listing many of the signatories. Numerous radio and on-line stories. A San Jose Mercury News op-ed by San Franciso prosecutor and medicinal marijuana user Keith Vines, and a Washington Post op-ed by three of MPP's signatories (scheduled to run next week). Several editorial boards also agreed to run sympathetic editorials next week. * In addition, when HHS Secretary Donna Shalala was on C-SPAN's Washington Journal on November 30, MPP's Chuck Thomas called in and criticized the HHS guidelines. In response, Shalala misrepresented the guidelines, claiming that they enable "the kind of rigorous research that everybody else is required to do on drugs. ... We need to do what we do for every drug." This was an outright lie, because the guidelines actually place a *much greater* burden on medicinal marijuana researchers than on drug companies that develop and study newly developed pharmaceuticals. Perhaps even more important than the news coverage that MPP attained is the fact that HHS was completely blown out of the water. HHS received absolutely no media coverage other than a few defensive quotes in the articles dominated by MPP's perspective. Originally, HHS had planned to make a big media splash when the guidelines were implemented, sending the fallacious message that "there's no need to pass anymore state medicinal marijuana laws, because the federal research and approval process is wide open." Instead, HHS obviously realized that any coverage that they garnered would be certain to include at least a few quotes from our side, since MPP had been blanketing the media with news releases about the sign-on statement for weeks. So the safest thing for HHS to do was to remain silent and hope for as little coverage as possible. Indeed, there were no news conferences, news releases, or anything from HHS or the drug czar's office. Their plan was foiled by the truth. But the battle is not over -- in fact, MPP's media blitz was just the beginning. The new guidelines remain in effect, and it will take a lot more pressure to modify them. That's where *you* come in ... Please Re-Type The Following Letter To The Editor & Mail It To Your Local Newspaper As Soon As Possible: To the editor, Seriously ill people who need to use medical marijuana have once again been betrayed by the federal government. On December 1, the Clinton administration implemented its new medical marijuana research guidelines, which are still far too cumbersome. The guidelines also explicitly reject the Institute of Medicine's recent recommendation to open a federal compassionate- use program to give individual patients immediate legal access to medical marijuana. The administration claims that there is no longer a need to change state laws because the federal research and approval process is wide open for medical marijuana. That's not true: The new guidelines still place a much greater burden on medical marijuana researchers than on drug companies that develop and study newly synthesized pharmaceuticals. Presently, the only hope for protecting medical marijuana users from the threat of prison is to remove criminal penalties in the states. A statement criticizing the new HHS guidelines was signed by Susan Sarandon, Richard Pryor, scientist Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D., former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, best-selling natural health author Andrew Weil, M.D., National Review, senior editor Richard Brookhiser, AIDS Action Council, New York State Nurses Association, National Black Police Association, Reagan administration official Lyn Nofziger, and hundreds of other patients, doctors, medical organizations, celebrities, and concerned citizens.When will the federal government finally listen? Signed, ( Your Name ) How To Support The Marijuana Policy Project: MPP is funded entirely by the contributions of its dues-paying members nationwide. To support MPP's work and receive the quarterly newsletter, "Marijuana Policy Report," please send $25.00 annual membership dues to: Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) P.O. Box 77492 Capitol Hill Washington, D.C. 20013 202-232-0442 FAX http://www.mpp.org/join-mpp.html
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