Pubdate: Sun, 06 Nov 2011
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2011 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.signonsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS ABOUT LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

Here are excerpts from a statement released by Gil Kerlikowske, 
director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, 
in response to petitions that marijuana be legalized and regulated 
similarly to alcohol.

When the president took office, he directed all of his policymakers 
to develop policies based on science and research, not ideology or 
politics. So our concern about marijuana is based on what the science 
tells us about the drug's effects.

According to scientists at the National Institutes of Health  the 
world's largest source of drug abuse research  marijuana use is 
associated with addiction, respiratory disease and cognitive 
impairment. We know from an array of treatment admission information 
and federal data that marijuana use is a significant source for 
voluntary drug treatment admissions and visits to emergency rooms. 
Studies also reveal that marijuana potency has almost tripled over 
the past 20 years, raising serious concerns about what this means for 
public health  especially among young people who use the drug, 
because research shows their brains continue to develop well into 
their 20s. Simply put, it is not a benign drug.

Like many, we are interested in the potential marijuana may have in 
providing relief to individuals diagnosed with certain serious 
illnesses. That is why we ardently support ongoing research into 
determining what components of the marijuana plant can be used as 
medicine. To date, however, neither the FDA nor the Institute of 
Medicine have found smoked marijuana to meet the modern standard for 
safe or effective medicine for any condition.

As a former police chief, I recognize we are not going to arrest our 
way out of the problem. We also recognize that legalizing marijuana 
would not provide the answer to any of the health, social, youth 
education, criminal justice, and community quality-of-life challenges 
associated with drug use.

That is why the president's National Drug Control Strategy is 
balanced and comprehensive, emphasizing prevention and treatment 
while at the same time supporting innovative law enforcement efforts 
that protect public safety and disrupt the supply of drugs entering 
our communities.

Preventing drug use is the most cost-effective way to reduce drug use 
and its consequences ... . We're also focused on expanding access to 
drug treatment for addicts. Treatment works. In fact, millions of 
Americans are in successful recovery for drug and alcoholism today.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom