On December 1, the Clinton Administration implemented its new
medicinal marijuana research guidelines which are still far too
cumbersome. The guidelines also explicitly reject the Institute of
Medicine's recent recommendation to open a federal compassionate use
program to give individual patients immediate access to medical marijuana.

The administration claims that there is no longer a need to change
state laws because the federal research and approval process is wide
open for medical marijuana. That's not true.

The only hope now for protecting medical marijuana users from the
threat of prison is to remove criminal penalties in the states.

A statement criticizing the new guidelines was signed by Susan
Sarandon, Richard Pryor, scientist Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D., former
Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, best-selling natural health author
Andrew Weil, M.D., _National Review_ senior editor Richard Brookhiser,
AIDS Action Council, New York State Nurses Association, National Black
Police Association, Reagan administration official Lyn Nofziger, and
hundreds of other patients, doctors, medical organizations,
celebrities, and concerned citizens.

Dr. Michael Wayda