FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3, 2006

CONTACT: ONDCP Public Affairs (202) 395–6618

National Public Health Official Issues Statement Regarding South Dakota's Proposed "Medical" Marijuana Initiative

(Washington, D.C.)—John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today issued the following statement regarding proposed legislation which would legalize so-called "medical marijuana" in South Dakota:

"This proposal is a scam being pushed on the citizens of South Dakota by people who want to legalize drugs. Our Nation has the highest standards and most sophisticated institutions in the world for determining the safety and efficacy of medication. Our national medical system relies on proven scientific research. Science and research have not determined that smoking a crude plant is safe or effective. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Medical Association, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society do not support the smoked form of marijuana as medicine. We have a responsibility as a civilized society to ensure that the medicine the citizens of South Dakota receive from their doctors is safe, effective and free from the pro-drug politics that are being promoted in South Dakota under the guise of medicine."

"Marijuana is a much more harmful drug than many Americans realize. There are more teens now in treatment for marijuana dependence than for all other illegal drugs combined. It is unfortunate that people who have been trying to legalize this drug for many years are exploiting the suffering of genuinely sick people to further their political ends."

• In April of 2006, the FDA issued an advisory that concluded no sound scientific studies have supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use. There are alternative FDA-approved medications in existence for treatment of many of the proposed uses of smoked marijuana.

• The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published a review of the available scientific evidence in an effort to assess the potential health benefits of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. The review concluded that smoking marijuana is not recommended for any long-term medical use, and a subsequent IOM report declared, "marijuana is not a modern medicine."

• Marinol, the synthetic form of THC and the psychoactive ingredient contained in marijuana, is already legally available for prescription by physicians whose patients suffer from pain and chronic illness.