Jacob Bell
New Member
Last month NORML posted a letter from Tennessee Congressman Steven Cohen – co-sponsor of HR 2306: The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011 – to Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, which called upon the Obama administration to support changing cannabis' status as a schedule I prohibited drug and to respect the laws of states that have legalized it for its medical utility.
"We should not deny the thousands of Americans who rely on the benefits that marijuana provides," Cohen wrote. "There is no evidence that marijuana has the same addictive qualities or damaging consequences as c******, h***** or m*** and should not be treated as such."
On Monday, October 3, Drug Czar Kerlikowske responded to Rep. Cohen. In his reply, summarized here, Kerlikowske alleged that the Congressman's concerns regarding the federal scheduling of cannabis are unwarranted because, "We ardently support research into determining what components of the marijuana plant can be used as medicine."
Kerlikowske added, "In fact, the federal government is the largest source of funding for research into the potential therapeutic benefits of marijuana, and every valid request for the use of marijuana for research has been approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration."
Really? So how does the Drug Czar explain this headline – from Saturday's edition of The Washington Post?
"Marijuana study of traumatized veterans stuck in regulatory limbo
Getting pot on the street is easy. Just ask the 17 million Americans who smoked the federally illegal drug in 2010.
Obtaining weed from the government? That's a lot harder.
In April, the Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its kind study to test whether marijuana can ease the nightmares, insomnia, anxiety and flashbacks common in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
But now another branch of the federal government has stymied the study. The Health and Human Services Department is refusing to sell government-grown marijuana to the nonprofit group proposing the research, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies."
That's right, the Drug Czar is claiming that the federal government 'ardently supports' medical marijuana research just days after the US government formally denied a request for an FDA-approved clinical trial to assess cannabis' therapeutic safety and efficacy.
Wait, it gets worse. The ugly truth is that the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the agency that oversees 85 percent of the world's research on controlled substances, is on record stating that its institutional policy is to reject any and all medical marijuana research. "As the National Institute on Drug Abuse, our focus is primarily on the negative consequences of marijuana use," a NIDA spokesperson told The New York Times in 2010. "We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana."
For once a government agency was telling the truth regarding cannabis. NIDA categorically does not support such research – despite the Obama administration in 2010 publicly issuing its "Scientific Integrity" memorandum stating, "Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration."
That is why an online search of ongoing FDA-approved clinical trials using the keyword "cannabinoids" yields only six studies (two of which have already been completed) worldwide involving subjects' use of actual cannabis despite hundreds of favorable preclinical and observational studies clearly demonstrating its benefit.
Just how blatant is Kerlikowske's latest lie? Consider this. According to the White House's 2011 National Drug Control Strategy, released in July, only fourteen researchers in the United States are legally permitted to conduct research assessing the effect of inhaled cannabis in human subjects. That's right, only fourteen! And even among this absurdly limited group of investigators, most are involved in research to assess the drug's "abuse potential, physical/psychological effects, [and] adverse effects." So says the White House.
Ardent support for medical marijuana research? Please Gil, don't make us laugh.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: blogs.alternet.org
Author: Paul Armentano
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: AlterNet
Website: The Federal Government 'Ardently Supports' Medical Marijuana Research?! Who Knew?
"We should not deny the thousands of Americans who rely on the benefits that marijuana provides," Cohen wrote. "There is no evidence that marijuana has the same addictive qualities or damaging consequences as c******, h***** or m*** and should not be treated as such."
On Monday, October 3, Drug Czar Kerlikowske responded to Rep. Cohen. In his reply, summarized here, Kerlikowske alleged that the Congressman's concerns regarding the federal scheduling of cannabis are unwarranted because, "We ardently support research into determining what components of the marijuana plant can be used as medicine."
Kerlikowske added, "In fact, the federal government is the largest source of funding for research into the potential therapeutic benefits of marijuana, and every valid request for the use of marijuana for research has been approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration."
Really? So how does the Drug Czar explain this headline – from Saturday's edition of The Washington Post?
"Marijuana study of traumatized veterans stuck in regulatory limbo
Getting pot on the street is easy. Just ask the 17 million Americans who smoked the federally illegal drug in 2010.
Obtaining weed from the government? That's a lot harder.
In April, the Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its kind study to test whether marijuana can ease the nightmares, insomnia, anxiety and flashbacks common in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
But now another branch of the federal government has stymied the study. The Health and Human Services Department is refusing to sell government-grown marijuana to the nonprofit group proposing the research, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies."
That's right, the Drug Czar is claiming that the federal government 'ardently supports' medical marijuana research just days after the US government formally denied a request for an FDA-approved clinical trial to assess cannabis' therapeutic safety and efficacy.
Wait, it gets worse. The ugly truth is that the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the agency that oversees 85 percent of the world's research on controlled substances, is on record stating that its institutional policy is to reject any and all medical marijuana research. "As the National Institute on Drug Abuse, our focus is primarily on the negative consequences of marijuana use," a NIDA spokesperson told The New York Times in 2010. "We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana."
For once a government agency was telling the truth regarding cannabis. NIDA categorically does not support such research – despite the Obama administration in 2010 publicly issuing its "Scientific Integrity" memorandum stating, "Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration."
That is why an online search of ongoing FDA-approved clinical trials using the keyword "cannabinoids" yields only six studies (two of which have already been completed) worldwide involving subjects' use of actual cannabis despite hundreds of favorable preclinical and observational studies clearly demonstrating its benefit.
Just how blatant is Kerlikowske's latest lie? Consider this. According to the White House's 2011 National Drug Control Strategy, released in July, only fourteen researchers in the United States are legally permitted to conduct research assessing the effect of inhaled cannabis in human subjects. That's right, only fourteen! And even among this absurdly limited group of investigators, most are involved in research to assess the drug's "abuse potential, physical/psychological effects, [and] adverse effects." So says the White House.
Ardent support for medical marijuana research? Please Gil, don't make us laugh.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: blogs.alternet.org
Author: Paul Armentano
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: AlterNet
Website: The Federal Government 'Ardently Supports' Medical Marijuana Research?! Who Knew?
