Time: Mon Mar 03 08:46:27 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id IAA13193; Mon, 3 Mar 1997 08:15:41 -0700 (MST) 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 email: [address in tool bar] : Eudora Pro 3.0.1 on Intel 586 CPU web site: http://www.supremelaw.com : library & law school registration ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this ========================================================================
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