Pubdate: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 Source: Roanoke Times (VA) Copyright: 2006 Roanoke Times Contact: http://www.roanoke.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368 Note: First priority is to those letter-writers who live in circulation area. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) FDA'S MARIJUANA STANCE IGNORES ACTUAL SCIENCE Agency Position Should Have Been Based On Facts, Not A Predetermined Political Conclusion The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last week that "no sound scientific studies" found any benefit from the medicinal use of marijuana. Only those who have not been paying attention to the Bush administration's disdain and disregard for science the last five years will be stunned to learn that the FDA's pronouncement was more wish-fulfillment than science. In fact, a 1999 review by the Institute of Medicine found that marijuana was "moderately well suited" for treating or comforting those suffering from several medical conditions, including nausea caused by chemotherapy and AIDS. "Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the FDA making pronouncements that seem to be driven more by ideology than science," Dr. Jerry Avorn, a professor at Harvard Medical School, told The New York Times. Not only is the FDA prematurely and inaccurately proclaiming medicinal marijuana's worthlessness, the agency has labored with the Drug Enforcement Agency to discourage any research that might prove differently. Researchers have had trouble getting approval to grow marijuana for use in studies. They've had trouble getting financing for studies. And they've had trouble getting studies published. Eleven states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, but a widely criticized Supreme Court decision last year said federal drug laws trump such state initiatives. It's a divisive political issue, and many have wanted the FDA to take a position. But that position should have been based on facts, not a blatantly predetermined conclusion. Ignoring the Institute of Medicine's study -- and general scientific and medical consensus --about the efficacy of marijuana may make a certain segment of the Republican political base happy. But it further erodes the FDA's credibility -- already in tatters from the Plan B emergency contraception fiasco. It would be unfair to say it erodes the credibility of the Bush administration. When it comes to matters scientific, the Bush administration has no credibility left to erode -- though it was only a rumor that, until recently, NASA scientists were not allowed to note that the Earth is round. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman