cannabisnews.com: War on Drugs a Wasted Effort 





War on Drugs a Wasted Effort 
Posted by FoM on December 01, 2000 at 15:38:53 PT
 Eric C. Breitenstein, Independent Fla. Alligator
Source: U-WIRE
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether "medically necessary" can justify distributing marijuana to seriously ill patients in violation of federal drug laws. The court now has the ability to nullify three decades of myopic federal drug policy. The current case is the result of an appeal by the Clinton administration after a 9th Circuit ruling claimed the government had not provided compelling evidence against the medical use of marijuana. 
The federal government's treatment of marijuana is based more on politics than scientific evidence. The truth is that most scientific research has shown that marijuana is relatively benign. In 1995, after 30 years of scientific research, the prestigious British medical journal Lancet came to the conclusion that, "the smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health." In 1970, the Shafer Commission was authorized by Congress to study the evidence and had among its members four physicians, two lawyers, four members of Congress and was chaired by former Pennsylvania Governor Richard Shafer. The commission held hearings nationwide and commissioned numerous studies to assess the facts about marijuana use, laws prohibiting its sale, and its pharmacological effects. In 1972, the commission issued its findings, and found, "... no convincing evidence that marijuana caused crime, insanity, sexual promiscuity, an amotivational syndrome, or that marijuana was a stepping stone to other drugs." The commission said that federal marijuana policy was vastly overpowered for a drug of which, "moderate use (of) was not very dangerous," and that its use did not constitute a threat to public health. At the same time, British and Dutch commissions were coming to the same conclusions on the opposite side of the Atlantic. The evidence for marijuana's medical benefits is just as compelling as the lack of evidence of its harm. Numerous studies have shown that substantial benefits can be afforded to people afflicted with AIDS, glaucoma and cancer, as well as certain neurological disorders. The current prohibitionist federal policy on marijuana is opposed by the American Public Health Association, the Federation of American Scientists, the Physicians Association for AIDS care, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and the National Association of Attorneys General, as well as the New England Journal of Medicine, and was criticized in an editorial in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Federal policy of locking up harmless marijuana users, caring doctors and terminally ill patients is out of line. The Drug Enforcement Administration, an agency without true constitutional or medical authority, opposes any liberalization of current drug law, as well as further studies on marijuana. In a callous disregard for scientific freedom, the National Institute on Drug Abuse overruled the Food and Drug Administration by denying AIDS researcher Dr. Donald Abrams access to marijuana. He had wanted to conduct a study with marijuana on patients with AIDS-related "wasting syndrome." The government's secret is out: marijuana doesn't fit into politicians' view of a "Brave New World," and studies that show findings contrary to the official government line are usually ignored or banned. This brings up the broader issue of numerous civil-liberties violations that are perpetuated by the government's war on (some) drugs. Alcohol prohibition gave us organized crime, gang warfare and massive corruption at all levels of government. The repeal of prohibition saw a drop in crime, without a significant increase in alcohol consumption. In fact, alcohol consumption increased during prohibition. The issues that divide our nation -- racial profiling, violent crime and rampant constitutional violations -- all stem from the government's goal of a puritan America. Such a goal is a totalitarian one. The murder rate of the Netherlands is one-fourth of the United States', and the percentage of Dutch citizens that have tried marijuana or other illicit drugs is actually lower than ours, yet the Dutch government has the most liberal drug policy in the world. Current drug policy is flawed, unconstitutional, divisive and harmful to our nation. Hopefully the Supreme Court will fight for states' rights and nullify years of bad federal policy by agreeing with the 9th Circuit. "Just say No" to the war on drugs. (U-WIRE) Gainesville, Fla. Author: Eric C. BreitensteinIndependent Florida Alligator, U. FloridaUpdated 12:00 PM ET November 30, 2000 (C) 2000 Independent Florida Alligator via U-WIRE Related Articles:Smoke Screenhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7841.shtmlMedical Marijuana Case To Top Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7823.shtmlOakland Marijuana Case Goes To US Supreme Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7800.shtmlU.S. Justices To Weigh Medical Marijuana Laws http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7797.shtmlSupreme Court To Decide Medical Marijuana Case http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7784.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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