REP. SOUDER PREPARES TO INTRODUCE "LUNG DISEASE PROMOTION ACT"

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A bill being circulated by U.S. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)
for introduction in the current session of Congress poses a direct threat
to the health of marijuana smokers, particularly medical patients who use
marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis,
and other illnesses.

The "Drug Sentencing Reform Act" contains a number of onerous provisions,
including language limiting the ability of federal judges to show mercy in
medical marijuana cases via "downward departures" from sentencing
guidelines. Most importantly, the legislation sharply increases penalties
for marijuana producers based on the level of THC, marijuana's main active
component -- with stepped-up penalties at the 6, 13, and 25 percent levels.

"This bill is a direct threat to the health of patients and to the
caregivers and loved ones who assist them," said Steve Fox, director of
government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.
"Souder should call his bill the Lung Disease Promotion Act of 2003. The
only serious health risks associated with marijuana use involve lung
problems like bronchitis caused by the tars in smoke, and research has
shown that users of higher-THC marijuana inhale less of those contaminants."

A 1997 study from the UCLA School of Medicine, published in Pharmacology,
Biochemistry and Behavior, demonstrated that smokers of higher-THC
marijuana inhaled "significantly less" tar than those smoking marijuana
with a lower THC level. In a 1999 report commissioned by the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Institute of Medicine noted,
"Except for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of
marijuana use are within the range of effects tolerated for other medications."

For that reason, most medical marijuana dispensaries protect the health of
their patients by providing high-quality marijuana that minimizes
smoking-associated health risks. The government of the Netherlands follows
the same practice: Medical marijuana sold in Dutch pharmacies and produced
by government-contracted growers contains THC levels of 15 or 18 percent,
as specified in government regulations.

For more information, please visit http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org