Thank you for contacting me with your support for H.R.2835, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to you on this issue.

As you may be aware, marijuana is a Scheduled I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Marijuana was placed in this most restricted category because it was found to have a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in the U.S. and lacks accepted Safety standards for use.

While I have heard the arguments for using marijuana for medicinal reasons, I am also aware of the availability of other legal drugs that can better treat the symptoms allegedly alleviated by marijuana. I believe doctors and medical professionals, in consultation with their patients, should be making medical treatment decisions, however, doctors are limited to prescribing drugs that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers to be safe for their intended use. The FDA, which uses rigorous scientific studies to determine the safety of a proposed drug, does not consider marijuana to be safe or effective. You may refer to the FDA’s statement on medicinal marijuana at:

http://www.fdagov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108643.htm

There are ongoing studies on the toxicology of marijuana and cannabis but there are currently no peer-reviewed studies that have proven the safety of marijuana use for either recreational or medicinal use. The American Medical Association recommends that marijuana remain a Schedule I controlled substance and a recent study at the Mayo Clinic showed that THC (tetrahydrocannabional) was less effective than standard treatments in helping cancer patients regain lost appetites. As the father of three, I also believe allowing the medical use of marijuana sends the wrong message to our children that using this drug poses no risk and is harmless. Additionally, legalizing marijuana would only make it that much more difficult for our law enforcement to distinguish between medical and recreational users.

The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act would prevent federal authorities from prosecuting pharmacies, growers and users of medical marijuana in states that have legalized use for medical reasons. Rest assured that while we may disagree on this issue, I will keep your specific thoughts firmly in mind as Congress continues to discuss this important issue.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Sincerely,

Duncan Hunter
Member of Congress