If drug companies or agri-business were supplying ganja

[boutons_]

.... you know damn well medical ganja would have been approved long ago.

====================

April 21, 2006
F.D.A. Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana

By GARDINER HARRIS
WASHINGTON, April 20 — The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists.

The announcement inserts the health agency into yet another fierce political fight.

( it's just another totally Repug-politicized federal dept )


Susan Bro, an agency spokeswoman, said Thursday's statement resulted from a past combined 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."

Ms. Bro said the agency issued the statement in response to numerous inquiries from Capitol Hill but would probably do nothing to enforce it.

"Any enforcement based on this finding would need to be by D.E.A. since this falls outside of F.D.A.'s regulatory authority," she said.

Eleven states have legalized medicinal use of marijuana, but the Drug Enforcement Administration and the director of national drug control policy, John P. Walters, have opposed those laws.

A Supreme Court decision last year allowed the federal government to arrest anyone using marijuana, even for medical purposes and even in states that have legalized its use.

( ... but the tobacco industry, another plant that is severely addictive, has bought enough legislators and judges to be immune to such rulings )


Congressional opponents and supporters of medical marijuana use have each tried to enlist the F.D.A. to support their views. Representative Mark Souder, Republican of Indiana and a fierce opponent of medical marijuana initiatives, proposed legislation two years ago that would have required the food and drug agency to issue an opinion on the medicinal properties of marijuana.

Mr. Souder believes that efforts to legalize medicinal uses of marijuana are a front for efforts to legalize all uses of it, said Martin Green, a spokesman for Mr. Souder.

Tom Riley, a spokesman for Mr. Walters, hailed the food and drug agency's statement, saying it would put to rest what he called "the bizarre public discussion" that has led to some legalization of medical marijuana.

The Food and Drug Administration statement directly contradicts a 1999 review by the Ins ute of Medicine, a part of the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's most prestigious scientific advisory agency. 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 Ins ute of Medicine committee that examined the research into marijuana's effects, said in an interview that the statement on Thursday and the combined review by other agencies were wrong.

The federal government "loves to ignore our report," said Dr. Benson, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. "They would rather it never happened."

Some scientists and legislators said the agency's statement about marijuana demonstrated that politics had trumped science.

( no ! )

"Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the F.D.A. making pronouncements that seem to be driven more by ideology than by science," said Dr. Jerry Avorn, a medical professor at Harvard Medical School.

Representative Maurice D. Hinchey, a New York Democrat who has sponsored legislation to allow medicinal uses of marijuana, said the statement reflected the influence of the Drug Enforcement Administration, which he said had long pressured the F.D.A. to help in its fight against marijuana.

A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration referred questions to Mr. Walters's office.

The Food and Drug Administration's statement said state initiatives that legalize marijuana use were "inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the F.D.A. approval process."

( which of course cost $100M and is only affordable by mega-drug companies. The same "rigorous scientific scrutiny" by the FDA is used to delay and prevent generics from coming onto the market, costing consumers 10s of $Bs/year given to the Repug drug companies for their price-gouging products )


But scientists who study the medical use of marijuana said in interviews that the federal government had actively discouraged research. Lyle E. Craker, a professor in the division of plant and soil sciences at the University of Massachusetts, said he submitted an application to the D.E.A. in 2001 to grow a small patch of marijuana to be used for research because government-approved marijuana, grown in Mississippi, was of poor quality.

In 2004, the drug enforcement agency turned Dr. Craker down. He appealed and is awaiting a judge's ruling. "The reason there's no good evidence is that they don't want an honest trial," Dr. Craker said.

Dr. Donald Abrams, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said he had studied marijuana's medicinal effects for years but had been frustrated because the National Ins utes of Health, the leading government medical research agency, had refused to finance such work.

With financing from the State of California, Dr. Abrams undertook what he said was a rigorous, placebo-controlled trial of marijuana smoking in H.I.V. patients who suffered from nerve pain. Smoking marijuana proved effective in ameliorating pain, Dr. Abrams said, but he said he was having trouble getting the study published.

"One wonders how anyone" could fulfill the Food and Drug Administration request for well-controlled trials to prove marijuana's benefits, he said.

Marinol, a synthetic version of a marijuana component, is approved to treat anorexia associated with AIDS and the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer drug therapy.

GW Pharmaceutical, a British company, has received F.D.A. approval to test a sprayed extract of marijuana in humans. Called Sativex, the drug is made from marijuana and is approved for sale in Canada. Opponents of efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal uses suggest that marijuana is a so-called gateway drug that often leads users to try more dangerous drugs and to addiction.

But the Ins ute of Medicine report concluded there was no evidence that marijuana acted as a gateway to harder drugs. And it said there was no evidence that medical use of marijuana would increase its use among the general population.

Dr. Daniele Piomelli, a professor of pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine, said he had "never met a scientist who would say that marijuana is either dangerous or useless."

Studies clearly show that marijuana has some benefits for some patients, Dr. Piomelli said.

"We all agree on that," he said.


Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[Kevin Trudeau]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration are liars, in my opinion. I'm blowing the whistle on the corrupt Government, Politicians, the FDA, Federal Trade Commission, the Pharmaceutical Companies and Big Business.

If they told the public the truth about Natural Cures and the harm that food and "Their drugs" are doing to you, there wouldn't be miliions of cancer patients and sick people buying prescription drugs and getting expensive surgeries which are putting Billions and Billions of dollars into their pockets every year. Remember, it's all about the money.

You are a customer to them, Not a patient. If they had noone sick, what would that do the the Healthcare Industry and the Pharmaceutical Companies, and they are in the pockets of the Food and Drug Administration. In fact, many people, when they retire from the FDA, they take top jobs with the drug companies who have a vested interest in keeping you sick. They work hand in hand.

I've got the answer to cure you from virtually every disease, and the government wants to stop anyone with the truth about Natural Cures, because they would go broke if everyone cured themselves naturally.

Of course these are things "They" Don't Want You to Know".

It's time to put a stop to this corruption and buy my book,
Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About.

[Oh, Gee!!]

No trolls

[DarkReign]

Kevin Trudeau = :thumbsup

When I have a headache, I smoke a bowl.

When my stomach aches, I smoke a bowl.

When I am hungover ill, I smoke a bowl.

15 minutes later, Im good as gold. I dont need a ing scientific report to tell me the medical implications of Marijuana. I could only imagine going to thru chemo, cataracts, etc.

Like anything else in life, everything is done in moderation. I am not a fiend. I just enjoy relaxing with a bowl after work, then I am done for the night with it.

[smeagol]

boutons is the perfect liberal.

boutons = Bill Maher without the humor

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Kevin Trudeau = :thumbsup

When I have a headache, I smoke a bowl.

When my stomach aches, I smoke a bowl.

When I am hungover ill, I smoke a bowl.

15 minutes later, Im good as gold. I dont need a ing scientific report to tell me the medical implications of Marijuana. I could only imagine going to thru chemo, cataracts, etc.

Like anything else in life, everything is done in moderation. I am not a fiend. I just enjoy relaxing with a bowl after work, then I am done for the night with it.

Dude you should run for president.

[boutons_]

smeagol = morality-legislating, paternalistic, prudish, simplistic, primitive, anti-scientific, theocratic, holier-than-thou, self-congratulating, smug, holy roller with a crucifix stuck up his ass.

May he spend 20 years with a painful affliction that has no profit margin.

Hey, just jokin.

[Sec24Row7]

I pretty much think that Marijuana should be legal.

This gateway drug bull just baffles me.

How stupid can people be?

If you are willing to try freaking CRACK what would stop you from trying Dope?

Lower drinking age to 18 and legalize pot at 18 as well.

That would make there be far less criminals in the US than giving every illegal amnesty.

[xrayzebra]

Is this a political forum or dope-r-us forum. I guess for dopers mary jane is
a political issue.

[Oscar DeLa]

I don't know what it is but

WASHINGTON, April 20 — The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists

[Cant_Be_Faded]

You think thets bad

rememba tha time pego got B with us at G's B at the VTX P and his eyes were swollen like an old man's?

[Guru of Nothing]

Is this a political forum or dope-r-us forum. I guess for dopers mary jane is
a political issue.

How about the government legalize dope, tax the out of it, and make amends for the current adminstration's lack of fiscal restraint?

[Yonivore]

How about the government legalize dope, tax the out of it, and make amends for the current adminstration's lack of fiscal restraint?

I'm for de-criminalizing all drugs and prosecuting the out of people who commit crimes under the influence, in pursuit, or any other reason due to drugs.

Oh, and it's Congress with the lack of fiscal restraint. Read your cons ution. Bush's tax policy -- which he had to get Congress to pass-- however, has increased federal revenues by billions. :o)

[Guru of Nothing]

I'm for de-criminalizing all drugs and prosecuting the out of people who commit crimes under the influence, in pursuit, or any other reason due to drugs.

Oh, and it's Congress with the lack of fiscal restraint. Read your cons ution. Bush's tax policy -- which he had to get Congress to pass-- however, has increased federal revenues by billions. :o)

Are we still teaching this to our children?

[Yonivore]

Are we still teaching this to our children?

Apparently not.

I believe the latest in conventional wisdom holds that all good stuff is the direct result of the actions of Democrats and all bad stuff is the direct result of the actions of Republicans.

And, if it's good stuff the Democrats can't take credit for or that happens in front of witnesses, it's not really good stuff at all.

[Guru of Nothing]

Apparently not.

I believe the latest in conventional wisdom holds that all good stuff is the direct result of the actions of Democrats and all bad stuff is the direct result of the actions of Republicans.

And, if it's good stuff the Democrats can't take credit for or that happens in front of witnesses, it's not really good stuff at all.

All bad stuff can be attributed to greed or laziness.

Book it!!

[exstatic]

Pot is illegal because you can grow your own and they can't control it. Think: smokable moonshine. Same principle.

[Trainwreck2100]

Pot is illegal because you can grow your own and they can't control it. Think: smokable moonshine. Same principle.

bingo

[scott]

If drug companies or agri-business were supplying ganja

What do you mean "if"?

Check out a company called Pharmos, stock ticker PARS.

[Nbadan]

Pot will never be legal because it produces billions of dollars in untraceable currency. That's money that can be used for all types of surrep ious purposes

[Cant_Be_Faded]

boutons___ likes to puff ganja, that dirty liberal

[Sec24Row7]

Pot is illegal because you can grow your own and they can't control it. Think: smokable moonshine. Same principle.

Given the option, what do you think a Lazy stoner is going to do?

Buy weed at the corner store? Or grow it himself?

[boutons_]

It's legal to brew your own wine and beer.

If ganja were legal, why criminalize growing your own ganja?

[exstatic]

Given the option, what do you think a Lazy stoner is going to do?

Buy weed at the corner store? Or grow it himself?

The underground market always depends on the legal price, plus any taxes. If a pack of spliffs costs $50, "lazy stoner" is going to be on his way to Home Depot for some "potting" soil.

[greyforest]

Pot will never be legal because it produces billions of dollars in untraceable currency. That's money that can be used for all types of surrep ious purposes

huh, strange, i thought it already did that.

i also thought that if it was legal then the price would drop, since it is no longer contraband schedule-1, and also federal spending would drop as well.

oh yeah, thats because that's what is true.

www.prohibitioncosts.org



sorry. if alcohol and tobacco are legal, then it is absolutely ing asinine to have cannabis on the same schedule as heroin. scientists don't make the laws though.