Pubdate: Thu, 20 Feb 2014
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2014 The New York Times Company
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Earl Blumenauer
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n162/a01.html

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

To the Editor:

Orrin Devinsky and Daniel Friedman's Op-Ed essay, "We Need Proof on 
Marijuana" (Feb. 13), highlights a significant problem with current 
drug policy.

While there is no shortage of anecdotal evidence about the medical 
benefits of marijuana, federal barriers prevent doctors from 
scientifically studying marijuana. The fact that the Controlled 
Substances Act lists it as a Schedule 1 substance - like heroin or 
LSD - is part of the problem.

Researchers seeking access to it must jump through complicated 
bureaucratic hoops. In fact, a federal administrative law judge ruled 
in 2007 that researchers had been denied adequate access to marijuana.

That is part of the reason that I, joined by 17 of my House 
colleagues, have formally requested that President Obama reschedule 
marijuana from Schedule 1 to a less restrictive classification.

More than one million people legally use medical marijuana in 20 
states and the District of Columbia. It's time the federal government 
caught up with the rest of America.

EARL BLUMENAUER

Washington, Feb. 14, 2014

The writer, a Democrat, represents the Third District of Oregon.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom