MEDICAL MARIJUANA A DECOY IN EFFORT TO LEGALIZE ALL DRUGS

The Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition stands firmly against
medical-marijuana dispensaries. We have a tough fight in front of us,
but one that we are winning - and it's due in large part to the
efforts of political leaders, community volunteers and parents who
are standing up against the plight of medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Leadership in this community has helped to expose the dangers of
smoked marijuana and the dangers of allowing marijuana shops to
operate in our communities. We applaud Ontario and Norco, just to
name a few, who have had the courage to stand up and ban these
dispensaries outright from their cities. We want other cities to do
the same, especially those who continue to sit on the fence with a moratorium.

Research has not demonstrated that smoked marijuana can be helpful as medicine.

Marinol is a medicine - smoked marijuana is not. Unfortunately,
positive coverage of the medical-marijuana debate has contributed to
misperception that marijuana is harmless or may even have health
benefits. Interviews with teens found that some believe that
marijuana can cure cancer and other serious diseases.

Any determination of a drug's valid medical use must be based on the
best available science undertaken by medical professionals. The
Institute of Medicine conducted a comprehensive study in 1999 to
assess the potential health benefits of marijuana and its constituent
cannabinoids. The study concluded that smoking marijuana is not
recommended for the treatment of any disease condition. In addition,
there are more effective medications currently available. For those
reasons, the Institute of Medicine concluded that there is little
future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication.

Advocates have promoted the use of marijuana to treat medical
conditions such as glaucoma. However, this is a good example of more
effective medicines already available. According to the Institute of
Medicine, there are six classes of drugs and multiple surgical
techniques that are available to treat glaucoma that effectively slow
the progression of this disease by reducing high intraocular pressure.

In other studies, smoked marijuana has been shown to cause a variety
of health problems, including cancer, respiratory problems, increased
heart rate and loss of motor skills. Furthermore, marijuana can
affect the immune system by impairing the ability of T-cells to fight
off infections, demonstrating that marijuana can do more harm than
good in people with already compromised immune systems.

In addition, in a recent study by the Mayo Clinic, THC was shown to
be less effective than standard treatments in helping cancer patients
regain lost appetites.

The American Medical Association recommends that marijuana remain a
Schedule I controlled substance.

As a result of such research, a synthetic THC drug, Marinol, has been
available to the public since 1985. The Food and Drug Administration
has determined that Marinol is safe, effective and has therapeutic
benefits for use as a treatment for nausea and vomiting associated
with cancer chemotherapy, and as a treatment of weight loss in
patients with AIDS. However, it does not produce the harmful health
effects associated with smoking marijuana.

It's also important to realize that the campaign to allow marijuana
to be used as medicine is a tactical maneuver in an overall strategy
to completely legalize all drugs. Prolegalization groups have
transformed the debate from decriminalizing drug use to one of
compassion and care for people with serious diseases.

Marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug that poses significant
health threats to users and to the community in which marijuana is
sold. Marijuana has no medical value that can't be met more
effectively by legal drugs. Marijuana users are far more likely to
use other drugs like cocaine and heroin than nonmarijuana users, and
this raises additional concerns for those trying to purchase
marijuana in our Inland Valley cities.

Drug legalizers use "medical marijuana" as red herring in effort to
advocate broader legalization of drug use.

The Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition (www.ivdfc.org)
remains committed to educating our neighbors about the dangers of
drug use and the harm that medical-marijuana dispensaries bring to our cities.