Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 10:30:27 -0500
From: belmonte@cns.nyu.edu (Matthew Belmonte)
Message-Id: <199803191530.KAA21502@cns.nyu.edu>
To: nita.lowey@mail.house.gov
Subject: oppose H.Res. 372

Proposed House Resolution 372 claims, erroneously, that "Marijuana is a
dangerous and addictive drug and should not be legalized for medicinal use".
Almost any drug is dangerous, in that it can be used at the wrong dosage or
under the wrong circumstances.  This is why dangerous drugs are not dispensed
without a physician's prescription.  As for the claim that marijuana is
addictive, on the contrary, all the evidence indicates otherwise.  Nicotine
and heroin are highly addictive; cannabinoids are not.  The House of
Representatives would be wise to leave scientific claims to the scientists,
rather than trying to co-opt scientific discourse for political ends.  Wait
till December, when the Institute of Medicine will have completed a scientific
review of the medical utility of cannabis.

As an alternative to H.Res. 372, you might consider supporting H.R. 1782,
which would get government out of the picture and allow doctors and patients
to decide among themselves whether cannabis would be an appropriate
medication.