ONDCP Statement on Marijuana for Medical PurposesAugust 4, 1997
The initiatives underway in a number of States have sent a confusing message to our
children concerning marijuana that could not come at a worse time. In recent years we have
seen drug use by our young people increase at an alarming rate. Among 8th
graders, the use of illicit drugs—primarily marijuana—has tripled. This increase
in marijuana use has been fueled by a measurable decrease in the proportion of young
people who perceive marijuana to be a dangerous substance.
Advocates for legalized marijuana have mounted an intense and sophisticated public
relations effort to persuade Americans to their point of view, citing anecdotal examples
to support their thesis. As a result, many Americans are unclear about what the scientific
research really says. For example, in the past month, researchers have shown that the main
active ingredient in marijuana has precisely the same impact as heroin on a key brain site
that influences addiction to many drugs.
(See The Relative Addictiveness of Drugs According to NIDA's Own Researcher)
The same researchers also found that abrupt cessation of long-term marijuana use causes
the same kind of cellular withdrawal reaction in lab rats as that produced by other major
drugs of abuse. (Ed. note: I am sure that it was an oversight and
the Drug Czar meant to add that this occurred only after the injection of a synthetic
blocker. Perhaps it was short term memory loss.)
To clarify these issues surrounding marijuana research, we have commissioned a
scientific review by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine (IOM), a
venerable scientific institution renowned for its integrity. The IOM assessment will
produce a comprehensive summary of the scientific record on marijuana, which will serve as
an objective foundation for public-policy discussion and future research. As an
independent body of scientific and medical experts, the IOM is well suited to conduct this
important study.
Besides efforts to protect the medical-scientific process, a number of other actions
are underway by federal agencies to continue enforcement of Federal law, preserve
drug-free workplace and safety programs, and protect children from increased marijuana
availability and use.
The foremost objective of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is to create a
National Drug Control Strategy based on science rather than ideology. We have worked
closely with Director Harold Varmus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Director
Alan Leshner of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and other distinguished scientists
and medical researchers.
See The Scientist Magazine Does A
Reverent Interview with the Head of NIDA The Federal government
endorses the therapeutic use of any substance but only if it meets strict scientific
standards that ensure safe and efficacious use.
Research on the therapeutic use of marijuana should be treated with the same high
standards for scientific research required of any other drug with a high potential for
abuse. The existing FDA-NIH-DEA process ensures that decisions regarding Investigational
New Drug applications are based on their scientific merits. Any departure from this
established process is a breach of the public trust that all Americans rely upon to
safeguard the quality of our world class medical system.
Research experts in fields such as cancer treatment, infectious diseases, neurology,
and ophthalmology recently participated in a 2-day NIH workshop which reviewed existing
research about marijuana and assessed what is known about marijuana’s possible
therapeutic potential. This workshop highlighted the challenges of establishing
appropriate scientific criteria for undertaking clinical research on marijuana.
Proceedings from this workshop will be released soon.
With drug use by young people increasing, we must not send a mixed message to our youth
about the dangers of marijuana. Our Nation’s goal must be to reduce, not promote, the
use of illicit drugs.
Supported