a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana

Prohibition.

January 30, 1997

New England Journal Of Medicine Argues For Medical Marijuana

Proposed NORML Bill Echoes Medical Journal's Sentiments

January 30, 1997, Boston, Massachusetts: Federal policy that prohibits

physicians from prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is

"misguided, heavy-handed, and inhumane," according to the new issue of

the New England Journal of Medicine, the country's most prestigious

medical journal.

Calling the administration's position "hypocritical," magazine editor

Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer argued that: "Federal authorities should rescind

their prohibition of the medicinal use of marijuana for seriously ill

patients and allow physicians to decide which patients to treat. The

government should change marijuana's status from that of a Schedule 1

drug (considered to be potentially addictive and with no current medical

use) to that of a Schedule 2 drug (potentially addictive but with some

accepted medical use) and regulate it accordingly."

Kassirer's recommendation echoes the text of a proposed new federal bill

by Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass). Frank, a longtime proponent of

medical marijuana, has been working with NORML to craft a streamlined

medical marijuana bill that will reschedule marijuana under federal law,

thereby making it legal to prescribe. Once states are free of the

federal law prohibiting the prescription of marijuana, they can legally

implement different systems for growing and distributing medical

marijuana to patients on a state-by-state basis. The passage of this

legislation would also remove the threat of prosecution in the eight

states that already allow doctors to prescribe marijuana.

"Both historically and presently, states have been more receptive to the

medical marijuana issue than the federal government," explained NORML's

Executive Director, R. Keith Stroup, Esq., who noted that 25 states and

the District of Columbia currently have laws recognizing marijuana's

medical utility. "Therefore, NORML proposes a bill that effectively gets

the federal government out of the way of those states that wish to make

marijuana legal as a medicine." Stroup said that he expects Rep. Frank

to introduce the federal medical marijuana bill as soon as next month and

considered today's editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine to be

a major blow to the administration's current position.

"A lead editorial in favor of allowing patients legal access to medical

marijuana by the editor of one of the most prestigious medical journals

in the world gives additional legitimacy to this issue, and conversely,

further damages the credibility of the federal government's position," he

said.

A commentary written by Harvard Medical Professor and NORML Board

Member Lester Grinspoon in the June 21, 1995, edition of the Journal of

the American Medical Association (JAMA) stated: "It is time for

physicians to acknowledge more openly that the present classification is

scientifically, legally, and morally wrong." A lead editorial published

later that year in the highly respected British medical journal, The

Lancet, added: "The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful

to health."

"Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey is out of his league when he attacks medical

marijuana," said Bill Zimmerman, director of Americans for Medical

Rights, one of the organizations that spearheaded the successful medical

marijuana campaign in California. "He has ridiculed this issue as a

'Cheech and Chong show.' In truth, it is a matter of real concern to

medical professionals. McCaffrey has made a bad policy worse, and is now

facing the consequences in the form of a rebellion by the medical

community."

"Congress can no longer ignore the issue of medical marijuana,"

summarized Stroup. "The passage of state initiatives supporting its

medical use in California and Arizona brought this issue to the political

forefront. We expect the introduction of Rep. Barney Frank's legislation

and the high-profile hearings that follow to keep it there."

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano

of NORML @ (202) 483-5500. NORML's report summarizing the various state

medical marijuana laws is available upon request.

Federal Study Concludes That Marijuana's Main Active Ingredient

Does Not Cause Cancer

January 30, 1997, Boston Massachusetts: The main active ingredient in

marijuana (THC) did not cause cancer when fed to laboratory animals in

huge doses over long periods, according to a federal study recently

publicized by The Boston Globe. The $2 million dollar study had been

left on the shelf for over two years.

"This study's findings undercuts the federal government's contention

that marijuana itself is carcinogenic," said NORML's Deputy Director

Allen St. Pierre. "It is ridiculous that such a report has failed to see

the light of day until now."

According to The Boston Globe, the 126-page draft study has never been

published, though a panel of expert reviewers found in June 1994 that its

scientific methods and conclusions were sound. "We found absolutely no

evidence of cancer," John Butcher, director of the National Toxicology

Program, told The Globe in reference to the study. Surprisingly, Butcher

said that THC may even have protected against malignancies.

In the study, high doses of THC were delivered directly into the

stomachs of mice and rats daily for two years. Since the animals were

not exposed to marijuana smoke, the study did not address the

carcinogenic potential of inhaled marijuana.

Butcher told The Boston Globe that his agency had not been pressured to

bury the report, and said the delay was due to a personnel shortage.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre of NORML @ (202)

483-5500 or Attorney Steve Epstein of Mass/CANN NORML @ (617) 599-3161.

Medical Marijuana Legislation Hot Topic For State Legislators

January 30, 1997, Washington, D.C.: Following the passage of

Proposition 215 in California and an Arizona provision recognizing

marijuana's medical value, several state legislators have expressed

interest in passing similar medical marijuana measures in their states.

In Wyoming, legislation to reschedule marijuana to allow for physicians

to prescribe it for medical purposes (S.F. 132) was heard today before

the Labor, House and Social Services Committee. Similar legislation has

also been introduced in Hawaii (H.B. 604) by Rep. David Tarnas (6th

District), and a law providing for a prima facie defense for patients who

are certified by the state to use marijuana to treat glaucoma, asthma, or

the nausea associated with chemotherapy (H. 2170) took effect in

Massachusetts last week.

Other states that have shown interest in introducing medical marijuana

legislation include New Jersey, Wisconsin, New York, and Maine. NORML is

currently sending comprehensive medical marijuana info-packets to

legislators in these states and has offered to help identify physicians,

medical marijuana experts, and patients who could testify at hearings in

support of marijuana's therapeutic value. "Legal access to medical

marijuana is a topic on the minds of many state legislatures this year,"

said NORML's Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre. "NORML and its local

affiliates stand ready and willing to work with interested legislators on

the state level in the months ahead."

An unfortunate backlash to the recent national publicity regarding

medical marijuana has been the response of some legislators to introduce

measures repealing existing state medical marijuana laws. On January 8,

Virginia Delegate Robert Marshall (R-Manassas) introduced legislation

repealing an 18-year old law allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana

to seriously ill patients (H.B. 1621). The bill passed in the House by

an 86-13 vote today and is being referred to a Senate committee.

Although Virginia's law does not provide legal access to the drug, the

state's recognition of marijuana's therapeutic value does help patients

defend against marijuana possession charges. Meanwhile, Ohio Sen. Louis

Blessing (R-Cincinnati) has introduced legislation to pull the plug on a

six-month old law granting medical marijuana users an affirmative defense

against marijuana possession charges. Currently, Ohio NORML activists

are mobilizing against this legislation.

For more information on pending state medical marijuana legislation,

please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML @ (202)

483-5500.

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