BURNS IS BOGUS

There is no polite way to put this, so I'll just say it: Deputy drug
czar Scott Burns is either an ignoramus or a liar. There are far more
falsehoods in his interview than one letter can possibly correct, so
I'll focus on two:

LIE #1: Tough laws and enforcement are reducing marijuana use: Burns
says, "drug use is down in the United States dramatically since 2001
. So we know that when we push back, the problem gets smaller."

Actually, virtually every expert analysis has found this to be
untrue. In 2001 the National Research Council, in a White
House-commissioned study, found "little apparent relationship between
the severity of sanctions prescribed for drug use and the prevalence
or frequent use."

Just weeks ago, a new World Health Organization study found that drug
laws have little if any relationship to use rates -- and that the
rate of marijuana use in the U.S. is over double that of the
Netherlands, where adults are permitted to possess and purchase small
amounts of marijuana from regulated businesses.

LIE #2: Marijuana belongs in Schedule I, with drugs like LSD and
heroin that are banned from medical use. Burns says, "Because of the
higher potency, it is the same as cocaine and methamphetamine and
heroin ... I say you should try crack, because from what I hear,
crack cocaine will make you feel really good as well. This is not
about making people feel better ... physician after physician, and
scientist after scientist have said 'You have got to be kidding me.' "

Oh dear. First, does Burns really believe that relieving suffering
(making sick patients "feel better") is somehow inappropriate for
medicine? Is he unaware of the mass of clinical research documenting
that marijuana does indeed relieve symptoms such as nausea, vomiting
and neuropathic pain?

Second, methamphetamine and cocaine are in Schedule 2 -- that is,
they are legal medicines. And no, the approximate doubling of average
marijuana potency over the last 20 years doesn't make it a whole new
drug -- not any more than wine is a whole different drug than beer
because it has three times the alcohol level. Indeed, there is no
proof that higher potency marijuana poses any danger at all. A recent
analysis in the journal Addiction stated, "more research is needed to
determine whether increased potency and contamination translates to
harm for users."

As for what doctors think, the American College of Physicians --
124,000 neurologists, oncologists and other internal medicine
specialists -- recently called for marijuana to be taken out of
Schedule I "given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana's
safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions."

Did Mr. Burns' nose grow longer as he was speaking?

Regards,

Bruce Mirken, Director of Communications, Marijuana Policy Project

Washington, DC