|
As discussion in sections 1 and 7 demonstrate, marijuana
does not share essential characteristics of drugs with significant
potentials for abuse. Not surprisingly, use of synthetic THC
has not produced any evidence of abuse. For example, this
excerpt on Dronabinol from a 1995 reference guide for health
care professionals published by the United States Pharmacopeial
Convention:
"Although chronic abuse of cannabis has been associated
with decreases in motivation, cognition, judgement, and perception,
no such decrements in psychological, social, or neurological
status have been associated with the administration of dronabinol
for therapeutic purposes. In an open-label study in patients
with AIDS who received dronabinol for up to 5 months, no abuse,
diversion, or systematic change in personality or social functioning
was observed, even in those patients with a history of drug
abuse."(12)
This petition asserts that evaluating the validity of
data for the purposes of scientific reasoning is not the prerogative
of the Attorney General or her representative. The DEA is
on record as recognizing that this limitation of their discretion
is based in statute, not executive policy.
"Clearly, the Controlled Substances Act does not authorize
the Attorney General, nor by delegation the DEA Administrator,
to make the ultimate medical and policy decision as to whether
a drug should be used as medicine. Instead, he is limited
to determining whether others accept a drug for medical use."(13)
"When a drug lacks NDA approval and is not accepted by
a consensus of experts outside FDA, it cannot be found by
the Attorney General or his delegate to have a currently accepted
medical use. To do so would require the Attorney General to
resolve complex scientific and medical disputes among experts,
to decide the ultimate medical policy question, rather than
merely determine whether the drug is accepted by others."(14)
This petition asserts that the validity of assertions
about marijuana that are based on the study of its constituent
parts is not only a matter of consensus in scientific and
medical circles, but also one recognized in U.S. policy.
|
