|
May
2006
The
DEA Position On Marijuana
Table of Contents
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,
There’s
Good News
Appendix A: Acronyms
Endnotes
The
DEA Position On Marijuana
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
SMOKED MARIJUANA IS NOT MEDICINE
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
In 2001,
the Supreme Court affirmed Congress’s 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.
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:
-
The
American Medical Association has rejected pleas to endorse marijuana
as medicine, and instead has urged that marijuana remain a prohibited,
Schedule I controlled substance, at least until more research is
done.3
-
The
American Cancer Society "does not advocate inhaling smoke,
nor the legalization of marijuana," although the organization
does support carefully controlled clinical studies for alternative
delivery
methods, specifically a THC skin patch.4
-
The
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that "[a]ny
change in the legal status of marijuana, even if limited to adults, could
affect the prevalence of use among adolescents." While it supports
scientific research on the possible medical use of cannabinoids as
opposed to smoked marijuana, it opposes the legalization of marijuana.5
-
The
National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) states that studies
done to date "have not provided convincing evidence that marijuana
benefits people with MS," and thus marijuana is not a recommended
treatment. Furthermore, the NMSS warns that the "long-term
use of marijuana may be associated with significant serious side
effects."6
-
The
British Medical Association (BMA) voiced extreme concern that down-grading
the criminal
status of marijuana would "mislead" the
public into believing that the drug is safe. The BMA maintains that marijuana "has
been linked to greater risk of heart disease, lung cancer, bronchitis
and emphysema."7 The 2004 Deputy Chairman of the BMA’s Board
of Science said that "[t]he public must be made aware of the
harmful effects we know result from smoking this drug."8
-
The
American Academy of Pediatrics asserted that with regard to marijuana
use, "from
a public health perspective, even a small increase in use, whether
attributable to increased availability or decreased perception
of risk, would have significant ramifications."9
In 1999,
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a landmark study reviewing
the supposed
medical properties of marijuana. The study is frequently
cited by "medical" marijuana advocates, but in fact severely
undermines their arguments.
-
After
release of the IOM study, the principal investigators cautioned
that the active
compounds in marijuana may have medicinal potential and
therefore should be researched further. However, the study concluded
that "there is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically
approved medication."10
-
For
some ailments, the IOM found "...potential therapeutic value
of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea
and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."11 However, it pointed out
that "[t]he effects of cannabinoids on the symptoms studied
are generally modest, and in most cases there are more effective
medications
[than smoked marijuana]."12
-
The
study concluded that, at best, there is only anecdotal information
on the medical benefits of smoked marijuana for some ailments, such
as muscle spasticity. For other ailments, such as epilepsy and glaucoma,
the study found no evidence of medical value and did not endorse further
research.13
-
The
IOM study explained that "smoked marijuana . . . is a crude
THC delivery system that also delivers harmful substances." In
addition, "plants contain a variable mixture of biologically active
compounds and cannot be expected to provide a precisely defined drug
effect." Therefore, the study concluded that "there
is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication."14
-
The
principal investigators explicitly stated that using smoked marijuana
in clinical
trials "should
not be designed to develop it as a licensed drug, but should
be a stepping stone to the development of new, safe
delivery systems of cannabinoids."15
Thus, even
scientists and researchers who believe that certain active ingredients
in marijuana
may have potential medicinal value openly discount
the notion that smoked marijuana is or can become "medicine."
DEA has
approved and will continue to approve research into whether THC has
any medicinal
use. As of May 8, 2006, DEA had registered every
one of the 163 researchers who requested to use marijuana in studies
and who met Department of Health and Human Services standards.16 One of
those researchers, The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR),
conducts studies "to ascertain the general medical safety and efficacy
of cannabis and cannabis products and examine alternative forms of cannabis
administration."17 The CMCR currently has 11 on-going studies involving
marijuana and the efficacy of cannabis and cannabis compounds as they
relate to medical conditions such as HIV, cancer pain, MS, and nausea.18
At present,
however, the clear weight of the evidence is that smoked marijuana
is harmful.
No matter what medical condition has been studied,
other drugs already approved by the FDA, such as Marinol – a pill
form of synthetic THC – have been proven to be safer and more effective
than smoked marijuana.
MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS TO THE USER AND OTHERS
Legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the
expense of our children and public safety. It will create dependency
and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired
health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers.
This is
not the marijuana of the 1970’s; today’s marijuana
is far more powerful. Average THC levels of seized marijuana rose from
less than one per cent in the mid-1970’s to a national average
of over eight per cent in 2004.19 And the potency of "B.C. Bud" is
roughly twice the national average – ranging from 15 per cent to
as high as 25 per cent THC content.20
Dependency and Treatment:
-
Adolescents are at highest risk for marijuana addiction, as they
are "three
times more likely than adults to develop dependency."21 This
is borne out by the fact that treatment admission rates for adolescents
reporting
marijuana as the primary substance of abuse increased from 32 to
65 per cent between 1993 and 2003.22 More young people ages 12-17
entered treatment
in 2003 for marijuana dependency than for alcohol and all other
illegal drugs combined.23
-
"[R]esearch
shows that use of [marijuana] can lead to dependence. Some heavy
users of marijuana develop withdrawal symptoms when they have
not used the drug for a period of time. Marijuana use, in fact,
is often associated with behavior that meets the criteria for substance
dependence
established by the American Psychiatric Association."24
-
Of
the 19.1 million Americans aged 12 or older who used illicit drugs
in the past 30 days in 2004, 14.6 million used marijuana, making
it the most commonly used illicit drug in 2004.25
-
Among
all ages, marijuana was the most common illicit drug responsible
for treatment admissions in 2003, accounting for 15 per cent of
all admissions -- outdistancing heroin, the next most prevalent
cause.26
-
In
2003, 20 per cent (185,239) of the 919,833 adults admitted to treatment
for illegal drug abuse cited marijuana as their primary drug of
abuse.27
Marijuana as a Precursor to Abuse of Other Drugs:
-
Marijuana
is a frequent precursor to the use of more dangerous drugs, and
signals a significantly enhanced likelihood of drug problems in
adult
life. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported,
based on a study of 300 sets of twins, "that marijuana-using
twins were four times more likely than their siblings to use cocaine
and crack cocaine,
and five times more likely to use hallucinogens such as LSD."28
-
Long-term
studies on patterns of drug usage among young people show that
very few of them use other drugs without first starting with marijuana.
For example, one study found that among adults (age 26 and older)
who
had used cocaine, 62 per cent had initiated marijuana use before
age 15. By contrast, less than one per cent of adults who never
tried marijuana
went on to use cocaine.29
-
Columbia University’s
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reports that
teens who used marijuana at least once in the last
month are 13 times likelier than other teens to use another drug
like cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine, and almost 26 times likelier
than
those teens who have never used marijuana to use another drug.30
-
Marijuana
use in early adolescence is particularly ominous. Adults who were
early marijuana users were found to be five times more likely
to become dependent on any drug, eight times more likely to use
cocaine in the future, and fifteen times more likely to use heroin
later in life.31
-
In
2003, 3.1 million Americans aged 12 or older used marijuana daily
or almost
daily in
the past year. Of those daily marijuana users, nearly
two-thirds "used at least one other illicit drug in the past 12
months." More than half (53.3 per cent) of daily marijuana
users were also dependent on or abused alcohol or another illicit
drug compared
to those who were nonusers or used marijuana less than daily.32
-
Healthcare
workers, legal counsel, police and judges indicate that marijuana
is a typical
precursor to methamphetamine. For instance, Nancy
Kneeland, a substance abuse counselor in Idaho, pointed out that "in
almost all cases meth users began with alcohol and pot."33
Mental and Physical Health Issues Related to Marijuana:
-
John
Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy,
Charles G. Curie, Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health
Services Administration, and experts and scientists from leading
mental health organizations joined together in May 005 to warn
parents about
the mental health dangers marijuana poses to teens. According to
several recent studies, marijuana use has been linked with depression
and suicidal
thoughts, in addition to schizophrenia. These studies report that
weekly marijuana use among teens doubles the risk of developing
depression and
triples the incidence of suicidal thoughts.34
-
Dr.
Andrew Campbell, a member of the New South Wales (Australia) Mental
Health
Review Tribunal,
published a study in 2005 which revealed that
four out of five individuals with schizophrenia were regular cannabis
users when they were teenagers. Between 75-80 per cent of the patients
involved in the study used cannabis habitually between the ages
of 12 and 21.35 In addition, a laboratory-controlled study by Yale
scientists,
published in 2004, found that THC "transiently induced
a range of schizophrenia-like effects in healthy people."36
-
Smoked
marijuana has also been associated with an increased risk of the
same respiratory symptoms as tobacco, including coughing, phlegm
production, chronic bronchitis, shortness of breath and wheezing.
Because
cannabis plants are contaminated with a range of fungal spores,
smoking marijuana may also increase the risk of respiratory exposure
by infectious
organisms (i.e., molds and fungi).37
-
Marijuana
takes the risks of tobacco and raises them: marijuana smoke contains
more than 400 chemicals and increases the risk of serious health
consequences, including lung damage.38
-
According to two studies, marijuana use narrows arteries in the
brain, "similar
to patients with high blood pressure and dementia," and may explain
why memory tests are difficult for marijuana users. In addition, "chronic
consumers of cannabis lose molecules called CB1 receptors in the brain’s
arteries," leading to blood flow problems in the brain which
can cause memory loss, attention deficits, and impaired learning
ability.39
-
Carleton
University researchers published a study in 2005 showing that
current marijuana
users who smoke at least five "joints" per
week did significantly worse than non-users when tested on neurocognition
tests such as processing speed, memory, and overall IQ.40
Delinquent Behaviors and Drugged Driving:
-
In 2002, the percentage of young people engaging in delinquent
behaviors "rose
with [the] increasing frequency of marijuana use." For example,
according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report,
42.2 per cent of youths who smoked marijuana 300 or more days per
year and 37.1 per cent of those who did so 50-99 days took part
in serious
fighting at school or work. Only 18.2 per cent of those who did
not use marijuana in the past year engaged in serious fighting.41
-
A
large shock trauma unit conducting an ongoing study found that
17 per cent (one in six) of crash victims tested positive for marijuana.
The rates were slightly higher for crash victims under the age
of eighteen,
19 per cent of whom tested positive for marijuana.42
-
In
a study of high school classes in 2000 and 2001, about 28,000 seniors
each year admitted that they were in at least one accident after
using marijuana.43
-
Approximately
15 per cent of teens reported driving under the influence of marijuana.
This is almost equal to the percentage of teens who reported
driving under the influence of alcohol (16 per cent).44
-
A
study of motorists pulled over for reckless driving showed that,
among those who were not impaired by alcohol, 45 per cent tested
positive for marijuana.45
-
The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found
that marijuana
significantly
impairs one’s ability to safely operate
a motor vehicle. According to its report, "[e]pidemiology data
from road traffic arrests and fatalities indicate that after alcohol,
marijuana is the most frequently detected psychoactive substance among
driving populations." Problems reported include: decreased
car handling performance, inability to maintain headway, impaired
time and
distance estimation, increased reaction times, sleepiness, lack
of motor coordination, and impaired sustained vigilance.46
Some of the consequences of marijuana-impaired driving are startling:
-
The
driver of a charter bus, whose 1999 accident resulted in the death
of 22 people,
had been fired from bus companies in 1989 and 1996 because
he tested positive for marijuana four times. A federal investigator
confirmed a report that the driver "tested positive for marijuana
when he was hospitalized Sunday after the bus veered off a highway
and plunged
into an embankment."47
-
In
April 2002, four children and the driver of a van died when the
van hit a
concrete
bridge abutment after veering off the freeway. Investigators
reported that the children nicknamed the driver "Smokey" because
he regularly smoked marijuana. The driver was found at the crash
scene with marijuana in his pocket.48
-
A former nurse’s aide was convicted in 2003 of murder and sentenced
to 50 years in prison for hitting a homeless man with her car and driving
home with his mangled body "lodged in the windshield." The
incident happened after a night of drinking and taking drugs, including
marijuana. After arriving home, the woman parked her car, with
the man still lodged in the windshield, and left him there until
he died.49
-
In
April 2005, an eight year-old boy was killed when he was run over
by an unlicensed 16 year-old driver who police believed had been
smoking marijuana just before the accident.50
-
In
2001, George Lynard was convicted of driving with marijuana in
his bloodstream,
causing a head-on collision that killed a 73 year-old
man and a 69 year-old woman. Lynard appealed this conviction because
he allegedly had a "valid prescription" for marijuana.
A Nevada judge agreed with Lynard and granted him a new trial.51
The case
has been appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.52
-
Duane Baehler, 47, of Tulsa, Okalahoma was "involved in a fiery
crash that killed his teenage son" in 2003. Police reported
that Baehler had methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana in his
system at the
time of the accident.53
Marijuana also creates hazards that are not always predictable. In August
2004, two Philadelphia firefighters died battling a fire that started
because of tangled wires and lamps used to grow marijuana in a basement
closet.54
MARIJUANA AND INCARCERATION
Federal marijuana investigations and prosecutions usually involve hundreds
of pounds of marijuana. Few defendants are incarcerated in federal prison
for simple possession of marijuana.
-
In
2001, there were 24,299 offenders sentenced in federal court on
drug charges. Of those, only 2.3 per cent (186 people) were sentenced
for simple possession.55 In addition, it is important to recognize
that many inmates were initially charged with more serious crimes
but negotiated
reduced charges to simple possession through plea agreements.56
-
According
to the latest survey data in a 2005 ONDCP study, marijuana accounted
for 13 per cent of all state drug offenders in 1997, and of
the inmates convicted of marijuana offenses, only 0.7 per cent
were incarcerated for marijuana possession alone.57
THE FOREIGN EXPERIENCE
The Netherlands
-
Due
to international pressure on permissive Dutch cannabis policy and
domestic
complaints
over the spread of marijuana "coffee shops," the
government of the Netherlands has reconsidered its legalization measures.
After marijuana became normalized, consumption nearly tripled – from
15 per cent to 44 per cent – among 18 to 20 year-old Dutch youth.58
As a result of stricter local government policies, the number of cannabis "coffeehouses" in
the Netherlands was reduced – from 1,179 in 199759 to 737 in
2004, a 37 per cent decrease in 7 years.60
-
About
70 per cent of Dutch towns have a zero-tolerance policy toward
cannabis cafes.61
-
In August 2004, after local governments began clamping down on
cannabis "coffeehouses" seven
years earlier, the government of the Netherlands formally announced a
shift in its cannabis policy through the United National International
Narcotics Control Board (INCB). According to "an inter-ministerial
policy paper on cannabis, the government acknowledged that ‘cannabis
is not harmless’ – neither for the abusers, nor for the community." Netherlands
intends to reduce the number of coffee shops (especially those near border
areas and schools), closely monitor drug tourism, and implement an action
plan to discourage cannabis use. This public policy change brings the
Netherlands "closer towards full compliance with the international
drug control treaties with regard to cannabis."62
-
Dr. Ernest Bunning, formerly with Holland’s Ministry of Health
and a principal proponent of that country’s liberal drug philosophy,
has acknowledged that, "[t]here are young people who abuse soft
drugs . . . particularly those that have [a] high THC [content]. The
place that cannabis takes in their lives becomes so dominant they don’t
have space for the other important things in life. They crawl out of
bed in the morning, grab a joint, don’t work, smoke another joint.
They don’t know what to do with their lives."63
Switzerland
- Liberalization
of marijuana laws in Switzerland has likewise produced damaging
results. After liberalization, Switzerland became a magnet for
drug users from many other countries. In 1987, Zurich permitted drug
use and sales in a part of the city called Platzpitz, dubbed "Needle
Park." By 1992, the number of regular drug users at the park reportedly
swelled from a "few hundred at the outset in 1987 to about 20,000." The
area around the park became crime-ridden, forcing closure of the park.
The experiment has since been terminated.64
Canada:
- After
a large decline in the 1980s, marijuana use among teens increased
during the 1990s
as young people became "confused about the state
of federal pot law" in the wake of an aggressive decriminalization
campaign, according to a special adviser to Health Canada’s Director
General of drug strategy. Several Canadian drug surveys show that marijuana
use among Canadian youth has steadily climbed to surpass its 26-year
peak, rising to 29.6 per cent of youth in grades 7-12 in 2003.65
United Kingdom:
-
In
March 2005, British Home Secretary Charles Clarke took the unprecedented
step of
calling "for a rethink on Labour’s legal downgrading
of cannabis" from a Class B to a Class C substance. Mr. Clarke
requested that the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs complete a
new report, taking into account recent studies showing a link between
cannabis and psychosis and also considering the more potent cannabis
referred to as "skunk."66
-
In
2005, during a general election speech to concerned parents, British
Prime
Minister Tony Blair noted that medical evidence increasingly
suggests that cannabis is not as harmless as people think and warned
parents that
young people who smoke cannabis could move on to harder drugs.67
THE LEGALIZATION LOBBY
The proposition
that smoked marijuana is "medicine" is,
in sum, false – trickery used by those promoting wholesale legalization.
When a statute dramatically reducing penalties for "medical" marijuana
took effect in Maryland in October 2003, a defense attorney noted that "[t]here
are a whole bunch of people who like marijuana who can now try to use
this defense." The attorney observed that lawyers would be "neglecting
their clients if they did not try to find out what ‘physical, emotional
or psychological’" condition could be enlisted to develop
a defense to justify a defendant’s using the drug. "Sometimes
people are self-medicating without even realizing it,’" he
said.68
-
Ed
Rosenthal, senior editor of High Times, a pro-drug magazine, once
revealed the
legalizer
strategy behind the "medical" marijuana
movement. While addressing an effort to seek public sympathy for glaucoma
patients, he said, "I have to tell you that I also use marijuana
medically. I have a latent glaucoma which has never been diagnosed. The
reason why it’s never been diagnosed is because I’ve been
treating it." He continued, "I have to be honest, there
is another reason why I do use marijuana . . . and that is because
I like
to get high. Marijuana is fun."69
-
A few billionaires—not broad grassroots support—started
and sustain the "medical" marijuana and drug legalization
movements in the United States. Without their money and influence, the
drug legalization movement would shrivel. According to National Families
in Action, four individuals – George Soros, Peter Lewis, George
Zimmer and John Sperling – contributed $1,510,000 to the effort
to pass a "medical" marijuana law in California in
1996, a sum representing nearly 60 per cent of the total contributions.70
-
In
2000, The New York Times interviewed Ethan Nadelmann, Director
of the Lindesmith
Center. Responding to criticism that the medical marijuana
issue is a stalking horse for drug legalization, Mr. Nadelmann
stated: "Will
it help lead toward marijuana legalization? . . . I hope so."71
-
In
2004, Alaska voters faced a ballot initiative that would have made
it legal
for
adults age 21 and older to possess, grow, buy, or give away
marijuana. The measure also called for state regulation and taxation
of the drug. The campaign was funded almost entirely by the Washington,
D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which provided "almost all" the
$857,000 taken in by the pro-marijuana campaign. Fortunately, Alaskan
voters rejected the initiative.72
-
In
October 2005, Denver voters passed Initiative 100 decriminalizing
marijuana
based
on incomplete and misleading campaign advertisements
put forth by the Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER).
A Denver City Councilman complained that the group used the slogan "Make
Denver SAFER" on billboards and campaign signs to mislead the voters
into thinking that the initiative supported increased police staffing.
Indeed, the Denver voters were never informed of the initiative’s
true intent to decriminalize marijuana.73
-
? The
legalization movement is not simply a harmless academic exercise.
The mortal danger
of thinking that marijuana is "medicine" was
graphically illustrated by a story from California. In the spring of
2004, Irma Perez was "in the throes of her first experience with
the drug ecstasy" when, after taking one ecstasy tablet, she became
ill and told friends that she felt like she was "going to die." Two
teenage acquaintances did not seek medical care and instead tried to
get Perez to smoke marijuana. When that failed due to her seizures, the
friends tried to force-feed marijuana leaves to her, "apparently
because [they] knew that drug is sometimes used to treat cancer patients." Irma
Perez lost consciousness and died a few days later when she was
taken off life support. She was 14 years old.74
STILL,
THERE’S GOOD NEWS
Continued Declines in Marijuana Use among Youth
In 2005, the Monitoring
the Future (MTF) survey recorded an overall
19.1 per cent decrease in current use of illegal drugs between 2001 and
2005, edging the nation closer to its five-year goal of a 25 per cent
reduction in illicit drug use in 2006. Specific to marijuana, the 2005
MTF survey showed:
- Between 2001 and 2005, marijuana use dropped in all three categories:
lifetime (13%), past year (15%) and 30-day use (19%). Current marijuana
use decreased 28 per cent among 8th graders (from 9.2% to 6.6%), and
23 per cent among 10th graders (from 19.8 per cent to 15.2%).75
Increased Eradication
-
As of September 20, 2005, DEA’s
Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program supported the
eradication of 3,054,336 plants in the top seven
marijuana producing states (California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Oregon,
Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia). This is an increase of
315,628 eradicated
plants over the previous year.76
-
For
the 2005 eradication season, a total of 5 million marijuana plants
have been
eradicated across the United States. This is a one million
plant increase over last year. The Departments of Agriculture and
Interior combined have eradicated an estimated 1.2 million plants
during this
2005 eradication season.77
APPENDIX A
Acronyms
used in "The
DEA Position on Marijuana"
AAP |
American
Academy of Pediatrics |
ACS |
American
Cancer Society |
AMA |
American
Medical Association |
BBC |
British
Broadcasting Company |
B.C. |
Bud
British Columbia Bud |
BMA |
British
Medical Association |
CB1 |
Cannabinoid
Receptor 1: one of two receptors in the brain’s endocannabinoid
(EC) system associated with the intake of food and tobacco dependency. |
CMCR |
Center
for Medicinal Cannabis Research |
DASIS |
Drug
and Alcohol Services Information System |
DEA |
Drug
Enforcement Administration |
FDA |
Food
and Drug Administration |
HIV |
Human
Immunodeficiency Virus |
INCB |
International
Narcotics Control Board |
IOM |
Institute
of Medicine |
IOP |
Intraocular
Pressure |
LSD |
Diethylamide-Lysergic
Acid |
MS |
Multiple
Sclerosis |
NHTSA |
National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration |
NIDA |
National
Institute on Drug Abuse |
NMSS |
National
Multiple Sclerosis Society |
NORML |
National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws |
NSDUH |
National
Survey of Drug Use and Health |
ONDCP |
Office
of National Drug Control Policy |
TEDS |
Treatment
Episode Data Set |
THC |
Tetrahydrocannabinol |
ENDNOTES
1 As of
April 2006, the eleven states that have decriminalized certain marijuana
use are
Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. In addition,
Maryland has enacted legislation that recognizes a "medical marijuana" defense
2 "Inter-Agency Advisory Regarding Claims That Smoked Marijuana
Is a Medicine." U.S. Food and Drug Administration, April 20, 2006. <http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01362.html>.
3 "Policy H-95.952 ‘Medical Marijuana.’" American
Medical Association. See also, American Medical Association, Featured
Council on Scientific Affairs. "Medical Marijuana (A-01)." June
2001. In 2001, the AMA updated their policy regarding medical marijuana
reflecting the results of this study. It should be noted that a few medical
organizations have offered limited support to the concept of "medical" marijuana.
For example, the American Academy of Family Physicians has said that
it opposes the use of marijuana "except under medical supervision
and control, for specific medical indications." Largely at the
urging of one activist – a lobbyist and former Board member of
NORML – the American Nurses Association has endorsed "medical" marijuana
under "appropriate prescriber supervision," and the American
Academy of HIV Medicine, a group of about 1,800 members founded in 2000,
has taken the view that marijuana should not only be made available for "medical" use,
but should be excluded altogether as a Schedule I drug
4 "Experts:
Pot Smoking Is Not Best Choice to Treat Chemo Side-Effects." American
Cancer Society. 22 May 2001.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/update/NWS_1_1xU_
Experts__Pot_Smoking_Is_Not_Best_Choice_to_Treat_Chemo_Side_Effects.asp
(9 March 2005). 5
Committee on Substance Abuse and Committee on Adolescence. "Legalization
of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth." Pediatrics Vol. 113,
No. 6 (6 June 2004): 1825-1826. See also, Joffe, Alain, MD, MPH, and
Yancy, Samuel, MD. "Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact
on Youth." Pediatrics Vol. 113, No. 6 (6 June 2004): e632-e638h.
6 National
MS Society. "Information Sourcebook." National
MS Society. December 2004. <www.nationalmssociety.org/pdf/sourcebook/marijuana.pdf> (1
April 2005).
7 "Doctors’ Fears at Cannabis Change." BBC
News. 21 January 2004.
8 Manchester
Online. "Doctors
Support Drive Against Cannabis."
Manchester News. 21 January 2004. <http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/
news/s/78/78826_doctors_support_drive_against_cannabis.html> (25 March
2005).
9 Joffe,
Alain, MD, MPH, Yancy, Samuel W., MD, the Committee on Substance Abuse
and the Committee on
Adolescence, Technical Report: "Legalization
of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth", American Academy of Pediatrics,
6 June 2004.
10 Institute
of Medicine. "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the
Science Base." (1999). Summary. <http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed> (12
April 2005).
11 Id.
12 Institute
of Medicine. "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the
Science Base." (1999). Executive Summary. <http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed> (11
January 2006).
13 Institute
of Medicine. "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the
Science Base." (1999). Summary. <http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed> (11
January 2006).
14 Institute
of Medicine. "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the
Science Base." (1999). Summary. <http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed> (11
January 2006).
15 Benson,
John A., Jr. and Watson, Stanley J., Jr. "Strike a Balance
in the Marijuana Debate." The Standard-Times. 13 April 1999.
16 DEA, Office of Diversion Control. 8 May 2006.
17 "CMCR Mission Statement." Center
for Medicinal Cannabis Research. <http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/geninfo/mission.htm> (3 February
2005).
18 DEA, Office of Diversion Control. 6 January 2006.
19 Marijuana
Potency Monitoring Project. "Quarterly Report #87." Marijuana
Potency Monitoring Project. 8 November 2004.
20 "BC Bud: Growth of the Canadian Marijuana Trade." Drug
Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division. December 2000.
21 "Teens at High Risk for Pot Addiction." The
Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 6 January 2004.
22 Department of Health and Human Services, Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied
Studies. Treatment
Episode Data Set (TEDS) 1993-2003: National Admissions to Substance Abuse
Treatment Services. November 2005, Table 5.1b. <http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/teds03/teds_2003_rpt.pdf> (12
January 2006).
23 Id.
24 "Marijuana Myths & Facts: The Truth Behind 10 Popular Misperceptions." Office
of National Drug Control Policy. <http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/marijuana_myths_facts/index.html> (12
January 2006).
25 Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. Overview
of Findings from 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. September
2005.
26 Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. Treatment
Episode Data Set (TEDS) 1993-2003: National Admissions to Substance
Abuse Treatment Services. November 2005. Page 74; Table 2.1b. <http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/teds03/teds_2003_rpt.pdf> (12
January 2006).
27 Id., Tables 2.1a and 5.1a. There were 284,361 primary marijuana
admissions in 2003, with 99,122 of those being juvenile marijuana admissions,
meaning
that there were 185,239 adult marijuana admissions.
28 "What Americans Need to Know about Marijuana." Office
of National Drug Control Policy. October 2003.
29 Gfroerer,
Joseph C., et al. "Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends,
Patterns and Implications." Department of Health and Human
Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
Office of
Applied Studies. July 2002. Page 71.
30 "Non-Medical Marijuana II: Rite of Passage or Russian Roulette?" CASA
Reports. April 2004. Chapter V, Page 15.
31 "What Americans Need to Know about Marijuana," 9.
32 Department
of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Office of Applied
Studies. "Daily
Marijuana Users." The NSDUH Report. 26 November 2004.
33 Furber,
Matt. "Threat of Meth—‘the Devil’s
Drug’—increases." Idaho Mountain Express and Guide.
28 December 2005.
34 "Drug Abuse; Drug Czar, Others Warn Parents that Teen Marijuana Use
can Lead to Depression." Life Science Weekly. 31 May 2005.
35 Kearney,
Simon. "Cannabis is Worst Drug for Psychosis." The
Australian. 21 November 2005.
36 Curtis,
John. "Study Suggests Marijuana Induces Temporary Schizophrenia-Like
Effects." Yale Medicine. Fall/Winter 2004.
37 "Marijuana Associated with Same Respiratory Symptoms as Tobacco," YALE
News Release. 13 January 2005. <http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/05-01-13-01.all.htm> (14
January 2005). See also, "Marijuana Causes Same Respiratory Symptoms
as Tobacco," January 13, 2005, 14WFIE.com.
38 "What Americans Need to Know about Marijuana," page
9.
39 "Marijuana Affects Brain Long-Term, Study Finds." Reuters.
8 February 2005. See also: "Marijuana Affects Blood Vessels." BBC
News. 8 February 2005; "Marijuana Affects Blood Flow to Brain." The
Chicago Sun-Times. 8 February 2005; Querna, Elizabeth. "Pot Head." US
News & World Report. 8 February 2005.
40 "Neurotoxicology; Neurocognitive Effects of Chronic Marijuana
Use Characterized." Health & Medicine Week. 16 May 2005.
41 Department
of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), Office of
Applied Sciences. "Marijuana
Use and Delinquent Behaviors Among Youths." The NSDUH Report. 9
January 2004.
42 "Drugged Driving Poses Serious Safety Risk to Teens; Campaign
to Urge Teens to ‘Steer Clear of Pot’ During National Drunk
and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month." PR Newswire. 2 December
2004.
43 O’Malley, Patrick and Johnston, Lloyd. "Unsafe Driving
by High School Seniors: National Trends from 1976 to 2001 in Tickets
and Accidents After Use of Alcohol, Marijuana and Other Illegal Drugs." Journal
of Studies on Alcohol. May 2003.
44 Id.
45 "White House Drug Czar Launches Campaign to Stop Drugged Driving." Office
of National Drug Control Policy Press Release. 19 November 2002.
46 Couper, Fiona, J., Ph.D., page 11.
47 Orange
County Register. "Nation: Drug Test Positive for Driver
in Deadly Crash." Orange County Register.
14 May 1999.
48 Edmondson,
Aimee. "Drug Tests Required of Child Care Drivers – Fatal
Crash Stirs Change; Many Already Test Positive." The Commercial Appeal.
2 July 2003.
49 McDonald,
Melody and Boyd, Deanna. "Jury Gives Mallard 50 Years for
Murder; Victim’s Son Forgives but Says ‘Restitution is Still Required.’" Fort
Worth Star Telegram. 28 June 2003.
50 "Boy, 8, Who Was Struck While Riding Bike Dies." The
Dallas Morning News. 25 April 2005.
51 "Lastest News in Brief from Northern Nevada." The
Associated Press State & Local Wire. 30 April 2005.
52 Washoe
County District Attorney’s Office.
6 January 2006.
53 The
Associated Press. "Police: Driver in Fatal Crash had Drugs
in System." The Associated Press. 1 June 2003.
54 The
Associated Press. "Murder Charges Filed in Blaze that Killed
Two Firefighters." The Associated Press.
21 August 2004.
55 Office
of National Drug Control Policy. "Who’s Really in Prison
for Marijuana?" May 2005. Page 22.
56 "Marijuana Myths & Facts." Page
22.
57 "Who’s
Really in Prison for Marijuana? Page 20.
58 "What Americans Need to Know about Marijuana," ONDCP,
Page 10.
59 Dutch Health, Welfare and Sports Ministry Report. 23 April 2004.
60 INTRAVAL
Bureau for Research & Consultancy. "Coffeeshops
in the Netherlands 2004." Dutch Ministry of Justice. June 2005. <http://www.intraval.nl/en/b/b45.html>.
61 Id.
62 International
Narcotics Control Board. "INCB Welcomes ‘Crucial
and Significant Change in Dutch Cannabis Policy.’" United
Nations Information Service. 2 March 2005. The action plan to discourage
cannabis use includes elements such as drug prevention campaigns, mass-media
anti-drugs campaign, increased treatment efforts to cannabis users, and
encouragement of administrative and criminal law enforcement efforts.
See also: "International Narcotics Control Board Annual Report
Focuses on Need to Integrate Drug Demand, Supply Strategies." SOC/NAR/924
Press Release. 3 February 2005. <http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/socnar924.doc.htm> (18
March 2005); "Press Briefing by International Narcotics Control
Board." 3 January 2005. <http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2005/INCB_Briefing_050301.doc.htm> (18
March 2005).
63 Collins,
Larry. "Holland’s Half-Baked Drug Experiment." Foreign
Affairs Vol. 73, No. 3. May-June 1999: Pages 87-88.
64 Cohen,
Roger. "Amid Growing Crime, Zurich Closes a Park it Reserved
for Drug Addicts." The New York Times. 11 February 1992.
65 Adlaf,
Edward M. and Paglia-Boak, Angela, Center for Addiction and Mental
Health, Drug Use Among Ontario Students, 1977-2005,
CAMH Research
Document
Series No. 16. The study does not contain data on marijuana use among 12th
graders prior
to 1999. See also: Canadian Addiction Survey, Highlights (November 2004)
and Detailed Report (March 2005), produced by Health Canada and the Canadian
Executive
Council on Addictions; Youth and Marijuana Quantitative Research' 2003
Final Report, Health Canada; Tibbetts, Janice and Rogers, Dave. "Marijuana Tops
Tobacco Among Teens, Survey Says: Youth Cannabis Use Hits 25-Year Peak," The
Ottawa Citizen, 29 October 2003.
66 Koster,
Olinka, Doughty, Steve, and Wright, Stephen. "Cannabis
Climbdown." Daily Mail (London). 19 March 2005. See also. Revill,
Jo, and Bright, Martin. "Cannabis: the Questions that Remain Unanswered." The
Observer. 20 March 2005; Steele, John and Helm, Toby. "Clarke Reviews "Too
Soft" Law on Cannabis." The Daily Telegraph (London). 19
March 2005; Brown, Colin. "Clarke Orders Review of Blunkett Move
to Downgrade Cannabis." The Independent (London). 19 March 2005.
67 "Blair’s ‘Concern’ on Cannabis." The
Irish Times. 4 May 2005. See also, Russell, Ben. "Election 2005:
Blair Rules Out National Insurance Rise." The Independent (London).
4 May 2005.
68 Craig,
Tim. "Md. Starts to Allow Marijuana Court Plea; Penalty
Can be Cut for Medicinal Use." The Washington Post. 1 October 2003,
sec B.
69 From
a videotape recording of Mr. Rosenthal’s speech, as shown
in "Medical Marijuana: A Smoke Screen."
70 "A Guide to Drug Related State Ballot Initiatives." National
Families in Action. 23 April 2002. <http://www.nationalfamilies.org/guide/california215.html> (31
March 2005).
71 Wren,
Christopher S. "Small But Forceful Coalition Works to
Counter U.S. War on Drugs." The New York Times, 2 January 2000.
72 Brant,
Tataboline. "Marijuana Campaign Draws in $857,000." The
Anchorage Daily News. 30 October 2004.
73 Gathright,
Alan. "Pot Backers Can’t Stoke Hickenlooper." Rocky
Mountain News. 27 October 2005.
74 Stannard,
Matthew B. "Ecstasy Victim Told Friends She Felt Like
She Was Going to Die." The San Francisco Chronicle, 4 May 2004.
The Chronicle reported that Ms. Perez was given ibuprofen and "possibly
marijuana," but DEA has confirmed that the drug given to her was
indeed marijuana.
75 Monitoring
the Future, 2005. Supplemented by information from the
Office of National Drug Control Policy press release on the 2005 MTF
Survey, December 19, 2005.)
76 DEA Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program, 2005 eradication
season.
77 Id.
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