Fda Declares Marijuana Has No Medical Value

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FDA DECLARES MARIJUANA HAS NO MEDICAL VALUE
WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration declared Thursday that "no sound scientific studies" support the medical use of smoked marijuana.
The statement contradicts a 1999 review by top government scientists.
Susan Bro, an agency spokeswoman, said the statement resulted from a review by federal drug enforcement, regulatory and research agencies that concluded "smoked marijuana has no currently accepted or proven medical use in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment." She said the agency was issuing the statement because of numerous inquiries from Capitol Hill but would likely do nothing to enforce it.
"Any enforcement based on this finding would need to be by DEA, since this falls outside of FDA's regulatory authority," she said.
Eleven states have legalized medicinal uses of marijuana, but the Drug Enforcement Administration and the nation's drug czar, John Walters, have opposed those efforts. A Supreme Court decision last year allowed the federal government to arrest anyone using marijuana, even in states that have legalized its use.
Congressional opponents and supporters of medical marijuana have tried to enlist the FDA to support their views. Rep. Mark Souder
(R-Ind.) proposed legislation two years ago that would have required the FDA to issue an opinion on the medicinal properties of the drug.
Souder said he believes efforts to legalize medicinal uses of marijuana are "a front" for attempts to legalize all uses of marijuana, said Martin Green, a spokesman for Souder.
Tom Riley, a Walters spokesman, said the FDA statement would end "the bizarre public discussion" that has led 11 states to legalize use of the drug.
The agency's statement contradicts a 1999 review by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences. That review found marijuana to be "moderately well suited for particular conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting."
Dr. John Benson, co-chairman of the Institute of Medicine committee that examined the research into marijuana's effects, said in an interview that the statement and the review by other agencies were wrong.
The federal government "loves to ignore our report," said Benson, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Some scientists and legislators said the agency's statement about marijuana shows that politics are trumping science.
"Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the FDA making pronouncements that seem to be driven more by ideology than by science," said Dr. Jerry Avorn, a professor at Harvard Medical School.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), who has sponsored legislation seeking to allow medicinal uses of marijuana, said the statement reflected the influence of the DEA, which he said had long pressured the FDA to help fight marijuana use. A DEA spokeswoman referred questions to Walters' office.

Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)