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Battle over legal prescription of medical marijuana still raging

By Daily Bruin Staff

Jan. 20, 1997 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, January 21, 1997

PROP. 215:

Federal officials prohibit despite passage by CaliforniansBy
Scott Stimpson

Daily Bruin Contributor

Dope. Weed. Buddha. Pot. Ganja. Throughout the years marijuana
has been called a variety of names. However, in California, some
are now also calling it medicine.

While two months have passed since California voters passed the
medical marijuana initiative Proposition 215 by a margin of 56
percent, the controversy surrounding the initiative has only
escalated since November.

Earlier this month, Clinton administration officials warned that
doctors who suggest or prescribe marijuana to patients may lose
their DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) registration and be removed
from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

"This is not a medical proposition," said Drug Czar and retired
General Barry R. McCaffrey. "This is the legalization of
drugs."

However, last week a group of California doctors and patients
filed a federal class-action law suit in San Francisco to block the
federal government from punishing doctors who suggest marijuana to
their sick patients.

Those supporting the federal response argue that there is a lack
of proof that marijuana is medically effective.

"Let me be clear ­ there is not a body of scientific
evidence that supports these initiatives or the medical use of
smoked marijuana," said Dr. Alan Leshner of the National Institute
of Health (NIH) in a recent Los Angeles Times article. Yet other
physicians believe there is proof of marijuana’s effectiveness
citing studies done at UCLA that show marijuana lowers the
"intraocular" eye pressure of glaucoma patients.

One such doctor is UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Thomas J. Ungerleider
who has been performing government-sanctioned studies on marijuana
for two decades.

Under tight security in the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute,
Ungerlei-der keeps popcorn tins filled with a thousand government
issued marijuana cigarettes.

"We did one study that showed delta 9 THC (the active compound
in marijuana) worked in reducing nausea and vomiting in cancer
patients receiving chemotherapy," Ungerlei-der said. "We also did a
pilot study that showed delta 9 THC reduces (muscle spasms) in
patients suffering from multiple sclerosis."

Even though some studies show the effectiveness of marijuana,
opponents of Proposition 215 argue that there is comparable
medication legally available and there is no need to use
marijuana.

"There are so many superior approved drugs, rather than a crude
burning stick," said Ralph Lochridge, director of communications
for DARE (Drug Abuse Resistant Education) America.

"It (marijuana) should remain illegal; it is wrong and it is
dangerous," he said, noting that Marinol, a pure form of
marijuana’s THC is currently available at pharmacies with a
doctor’s prescription.

Yet the alternative medications to marijuana are much more
expensive, asserts Ungerleider. "Some of these new drugs cost $40 a
capsule," he said.

Whether or not marijuana will ever be stocked on a pharmacy
shelf, Ungerleider and Lochridge both agree that healthy people
should not use marijuana.

Ungerleider describes what he sees to be an inconsistency in
government drug policy.

"Since I can prescribe morphine, methamphetamines and cocaine,
it is amazing to (for) me (to) not be allowed to even discuss or
suggest marijuana to my patients," Ungerleider said. "The thing
that gets me irate is that during my research on marijuana I would
get calls from government officials (California) who publicly
opposed marijuana use asking me if they could get some marijuana to
relieve the pain of their cancer-stricken wives or sick family
members."

Ungerleider calls attention to what he sees as hypocrisy with
the government officials and he also admits that Proposition 215 is
not the optimal way to supply ill people with marijuana.

"It was not well written," Ungerleider said.

Lochridge, on the other hand, is unreserved in his assessment of
the initiative. "It sends the wrong message to kids," said
Lochridge. "It is a sick attempt by the drug culture to legalize it
(marijuana).

However, others including Unger-leider, think that an equal
amount of attention should be placed on children’s perceptions of
mainstream drugs that are responsible for more death and disease
than marijuana.

"Of course, parents should be worried about their children
using, but I’d hope that they are equally concerned about alcohol
and tobacco."

The DEA, which gives doctors the authority to prescribe
medication, is concerned about the passage of Proposition 215 and
how doctors will interpret it. DEA officials feel that the new
state law will set a precedent for doctors to disregard federal
regulations of drug prescription.

"What if tomorrow a doctor wants to prescribe heroin? This could
set a precedent," said Abel Reynoso, spokesman for the DEA. "What
we are concerned with is the abuse of this law."

Reynoso acknowledged the availability of marijuana on the street
but asserted the prominence of federal policy over state law.

"No matter what the law says in California, it does not effect
federal law," Reynoso said. "The DEA controls doctors."

SHAWN LAKSMI

Dr. Ungerleider, a psychiatrist and researcher at UCLA, has
studied the effects of marijuana for 20 years and is an advocate of
Prop. 215.

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