Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley’s Continued Reefer Madness

I haven’t the time for a thorough debunking, but I figure you Stashers have heard these all before and can debunk this in your sleep. This is the ironically named Senator Charles Grassley from Iowa, and it was too reefer mad not to share — “R”R

Thank you for contacting me regarding your views on marijuana.  As your Senator, it is important for me to hear from all Iowans on issues that are important to you.

Over the years, many people have expressed t he view that marijuana should be legalized for recreational, medical, and agricultural purposes.  However, I disagree with this view.  Marijuana is illegal because it is dangerous.  When you smoke marijuana, or use any other drug, it changes your brain.  It changes the way you think, your ability to learn, and how well you can remember.  Making marijuana a legal drug will not change any of this.  The laws granting the federal government the authority over the movement and sale of these dangerous substances is well established and has been thoroughly reviewed by the courts.

Marijuana harms the brain’s development.  The National Institute on Drug Abuse warns that teen use of marijuana causes problems with memory and learning, perception, problem-solving, coordination, and heart rate.  Because of all the problems it causes, marijuana can also affect school and athletic performance.  Although these problems are not unique to adolescents’ use of marijuana, adolescents are particularly susceptible.

Driving while under the influence of marijuana is also very dangerous because marijuana slows motor functions and impairs spatial perception.  Drugged drivers cause serious accidents.  A study conducted by the US. Census Bureau reported that an estimated 38,000 high school seniors in the U.S crashed while driving under the influence of marijuana.

Further, long-term marijuana use leads to addiction in some people.  Many people develop a tolerance for marijuana and need more and more of the drug to get high.  It has been linked to later abuse of other drugs in long-term studies, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Most people who use other drugs tried marijuana first.

On the medical side, over 15,000 scientific, peer-reviewed studies into the medicinal value of marijuana have been published.  Not one demonstrates that marijuana has any medicinal value for any condition.  Indeed, there is medical evidence to suggest that marijuana may actually aggravate some of the conditions it is supposed to treat, such as glaucoma or wasting.

Americans today have the world’s safest, most effective system of medical practice, built on a process of scientific research, testing and oversight that is unequaled.  Every drug prescribed as medicine in this country must be tested according to scientifically rigorous protocols to ensure that it is safe and effective before it can be sold.  Legalizing marijuana through the political process bypasses the safeguards established by the FDA to protect the public from dangerous or ineffective drugs.

It is also important to point out that for every instance claimed as a use for marijuana, there exists a far better, legitimate, scientifically approved medication.  This includes Marinol, which is a legally available, FDA-approved form of a marijuana extract that is currently being used as a treatment for nausea and AIDS wasting syndrome.  Many other medicines have been developed and have received FDA approval that do not have the hallucinogenic side effects or carcinogens that come with smoking marijuana.  These are medicines that meet scientific standards and do not rely on anecdotes and testimony for validation.

Additionally, others have expressed the view that the states should be left to decide whether or not to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes..  I believe the federal government has a long-standing obligation to monitor the purity, safety, and effectiveness of the medicines that are available to the public.  Again, I cannot support any effort which would bypass the safeguards that we have in place to protect public health.

At one time in this country, individuals and businesses could market anything as medicine and make any claim for its effectiveness.  Because of this, many other narcotics and stimulants were freely marketed in nostrums sold over the counter and through the mail.  Often these “miracle cures” were miscellaneous concoctions made from unknown ingredients.  These nostrums were often accompanied by endless testimonials from satisfied customers on how well these products performed.

Our grandparents and great-grandparents, who had to deal with these practices, woke up to the fraud that was being perpetuated on the public by these “snake-oil salesmen.”  These dangerous dr ugs were creating a major addiction problem, and the unknown ingredients in these curves were actually doing a great deal of harm.  In response to demands from the public, truth in labeling was born.

Consumers in the early 1900′s took steps to ban dangerous drugs and to determine what drugs had medical uses that could be demonstrated to be safe and effective.  Based on this experience, the Pure Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) of 1906 was passed, which required food and medicines to be pure, and the contents of medicines be labeled.  In 1938, the FDCA was amended to add the requirement that all medicines be safe, and the Food and Drug Administration was created to regulate this.  The FDCA was further amended in 1962 by the Harris-Kefauver Amendment, which added an additional requirement that any medicine must also be effective, and further required the FDA to establish efficacy standards.

In addition, a variety of laws were passed to deal with the distribution of dangerous drugs.  The first of these was the Harrison Narcotics Control Act of 1914.  The next major piece of legislation on drug co ntrol was the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.  These and other laws covering various types of drugs were replaced in 1970 when the Controlled Substances Act was signed into law.  This Act further defined the process that a substance had to go through to become an acceptable medicine.  In addition, a five tier scheduling system for all pharmacological substances was established, allowing for the categorizing of all medicines and other pharmacological substances based on their abuse potential and accepted use as a medicine.

The effort to control dangerous drugs here or abroad does not mean that various individuals will not still try to smuggle these illegal drugs into the country.  Nor does this mean we no longer have unscrupulous business enterprises that promise salvation through snake oil products  Over the past 60 years, the FDA has developed a careful, proven method for testing and approving drugs.  This process is the standard to which the rest of the world measures the safety and effectiveness of their drug approval system.

Certainly, I want to provide relief for people who are sick and dying.  Should20research someday prove that smoking marijuana does have medicinal value, I would support its use for medical purposes.  But even then, it should occur only under proper medical supervision and should conform to the prescription procedures under which other medicines are administered.

There are also arguments that marijuana should be produced as an alternative agricultural crop.  Cannabis sativa is a tall, Asian herb known also as hemp, and best known for its psychoactive properties.  The name “hemp” is also used to refer to a wide variety of fiber-bearing plants.  Other plants that are part of the hemp family include Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea), a fiber plant harvested in India and other parties of Asia.  Abaca or Manila hemp (Musa textilis) grown in the Philippines and other Pacific Islands; Mauritius hemp (Furcraea gigantean) grown in Africa; New Zealand hemp (Phormium tenax); India hemp (Corchorus capsularis), also known as “jute;” various forms of sisal (Agave sisalana) grown in Africa and the West Indies; and Cuban or Mexican sisal (Agave fourcroydes).  Today, all of these fibers are used primarily in the manufacturing of rope and twine.

While the various forms of hemp are still being grown and used in less developed countries, except as a novelty item, hemp, for anything other than garden twine or burlap, cannot compete.  Other than as a psychotropic drug, hemp has not proved to be a viable crop in any nation where its production is legal.  And other than the profits that could be easily made by selling true hemp to those wanting to use marijuana to get high, no evidence exists that legalizing marijuana will provide any growth to the legitimate economy.  It should be noted that true hemp (Cannabis sativa) is the only type of hemp fibers that contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Due to the greater potential for abuse when compared to the possible uses and benefits, I cannot favor promoting cannabis sativa as a legitimate alternative crop.  It seems that the main reason hemp is being put forward as a legitimate crop is to promote the legalization of marijuana.  That is something I cannot support.

Many Iowans have also compared the failure of alcohol prohibition to marijuana prohibition today.  While it is true that alcohol prohibition failed, alcohol is still responsible for over 100,000 premature deaths per year.  Alcohol causes problems when people drink too much, but one drink will not affect the typical adult.  Alcohol is legal and easily accessible, and I would have to agree with the observation that these costs are higher than the present costs of marijuana use.  But this is true because alcohol is legal, readily available and widely accepted-not because marijuana is less dangerous.  I disagree with any assumption that legalizing marijuana will not increase its use and therefore not increase the associated costs, or that crime would be reduced if marijuana were legalized..  The facts just do not support these assumptions.

Some have expressed that we should regulate marijuana in similar vein as we do alcohol and tobacco.  While it is true that tobacco, like alcohol, is legal, it is still responsible for even more premature deaths per year, staggering associated health care and other allied costs  Tobacco companies have agreed to pay millions, and possibly billions of dollars because they have lied to the public about the harm their products cause.  Yet the level of cancer causing carcinogens found in a cigarette is less than that found in a marijuana cigarette.

Others have argued that the legal system would be less burdened if marijuana was legalized.  However, the idea that our prisons are filled with marijuana users is inaccurate.  The overwhelming majority of federal and state inmates are in jail for repeat or violent crimes.  Fewer than 2 percent of state inmates are in prison for first-time, non-violent drug offenses.  Over 90 percent of inmates are in jail for violent and repeat offenses.  Of those in jail for drug offenses, the vast majority have been convicted for drug trafficking.

While the battle against illegal drugs is a battle that may never end, I strongly believe that this is a battle we must continue to fight.  The use of drugs has been recorded since the beginning of history.  Absolute success isn’t necessary to justify our efforts to curb the harm caused by illegal drugs.  The dramatic increase in crime in this country coincides almost exactly with years in which we virtually stopped enforcing our drug laws, years in which drug use soared.  As we have gotten tougher on drugs, crime rates have fallen and so has drug use.  Interestingly, as we have seen the anti-drug message diminish, we have seen a corresponding increase in teenage drug use along with corresponding increases in violent crimes among teenagers.  We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the 1960s and 1970s when we saw the affects of the legalization of drugs.  The results were disastrous for individuals and society.

Thank you again for contacting me.  I hope you found this information helpful.  Please keep in touch.