LET'S
LET THE FEDERAL DRUG ADMINISTRATION DO ITS JOB!
Janet
Lapey, M.D.
International
Drug Strategy Institute
Marijuana should be treated like all other drugs and subjected to the scientific
FDA drug-approval
process
before being promoted as a medicine. The recent Institute of Medicine (IOM)
report
by-passed
this process, playing into the hands of the well-financed drug legalization
movement. It
was
not unexpected: previous IOM reports have unscientifically supported needle
handout programs,
and
a related group, the National Research Council, recommended marijuana decriminalization
following
a 1982 IOM report which downplayed marijuana's harmful effects.
Although the media claimed otherwise, the IOM report actually said that
marijuana "is indeed a
gateway
drug." Just as most people ride tricycles before bicycles, most users of
hard drugs start with
marijuana.
The report went on to say that marijuana use has not yet been scientifically
shown to
"cause"
the use of harder drugs, just as tricycle use has not been shown to "cause"
bicycle use.
Marijuana's main active ingredient, THC, has long been available by prescription
in FDA-approved
pill
form for patients with serious conditions such as AIDS and cancer. Even
the IOM did not
recommend
marijuana for glaucoma, yet Massachusetts politicians legalized marijuana
cigarettes for
not
only glaucoma but also asthma! Smoking causes asthma!
Let's let the FDA do its job.
March
27, 1999
Top
of Page Index
Main Menu