Time: Mon Mar 03 08:46:27 1997
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Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 08:46:00 -0800
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: ACSH director on medical marijuana

<snip>
>Monday, March 3 1997; Page A18
>The Washington Post
>
>Medical Marijuana, Distinctively Speaking
>
>by WILLIAM M. LONDON
>Director of Public Health
>American Council of Science and Health
>New York
>
>As a longtime activist against health frauds such as laetrile as a
>cancer treatment and as a former director of drug abuse
>prevention programs, I read Joseph Califano Jr.'s op-ed piece
>"Medical Marijuana and the Lesson of Laetrile" [Feb. 17] with
>great interest -- and outrage.
>
>Just as drugs can be abused, so can analogies. Comparing medical
>marijuana to laetrile is an example of analogy abuse. Consider:
>
>1. While there has never been a scientifically plausible basis for the
>extraordinary medical claims made for laetrile, as far back as 1982
>the National Academy of Sciences noted "[marijuana has] shown
>promise in the treatment of a variety of disorders."
>
>2. Laetrile failed miserably when tested under controlled conditions
>and never received FDA approval. THC, the major active
>ingredient in marijuana, is, in capsule form, already an
>FDA-approved drug, even though capsules deliver THC less
>efficiently than marijuana smoking.
>
>3. Laetrile's toxicity is well documented; it causes cyanide
>poisoning. Marijuana was described as "one of the safest
>therapeutically active substances known to man" by the Drug
>Enforcement Administration's own administrative law judge in
>1988 following two years of hearings.
>
>Mr. Califano insists that there is no scientific evidence that
>marijuana is superior to currently available therapies.
>
>But, why does marijuana have to be proven superior to other
>therapies to be considered a viable option?
>
>Considering that marijuana is inexpensive and relatively nontoxic,
>and it obviously provides relief to sick people, Mr. Califano's
>insistence that marijuana now pass stringent tests of its medical
>efficacy is inhumane.
>---


========================================================================
Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S.    : Counselor at Law, federal witness
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