MARIJUNA ISN'T APPROVED AS MEDICINE

Edwin Stickney's guest opinion is ill-informed on both the law and the
scientific facts regarding so-called "medical" marijuana. Stickney
accuses the president of "reneging" on his pledge to support marijuana
- - but in reality the so-called "Ogden" memo was never the green light
marijuana legalization advocates hoped for from the administration.

The memo specifically acknowledges that federal law renders marijuana
- - for any use - illegal, regardless of state laws. The memo further
goes out of its way to say that marijuana is a Schedule I drug with no
accepted medical use by the Food and Drug Administration and that
resources would continue to be used in the most efficient way possible
(that is, those profiting off of the vulnerable would be targeted over
the truly sick).

But the bigger issue revolves around marijuana as a so-called
medicine. Marijuana, as a whole plant, has thousands of unknown and
carcinogenic components and has not met the rigorous standards of
medicine set forth by the FDA. The Institute of Medicine in 1999
rejected smoked marijuana as medicine for many reasons, chief among
them that "smoking" is a dangerous way to ingest any drug.

Additionally, we know there are suitable alternatives on the market
already. Indeed, some constituents of marijuana, including THC, are
available today in pill form (Marinol); some synthetic mimics of those
constituents are also available (Cesamet). Research is also
investigating other safe delivery methods for these types of
medications.

Jeffrey N. Kushner

Victor