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 Thirds any mind-altering drug that produces euphoria
 can make a sick person think he feels better° Stories from
 patients who claim marijuana helps them may be the result of
 the mind-altering effects of the drugs not the results of
 improvements in their conditions_
 Fourths long-time abusers of marijuana are not immune
 to illness. Many eventually get cancers glaucomas MS and
 other diseases. People who become dependent on mind-
 altering drugs tend to rationalize their behavior. They
 invent excuses, which they can come to believer to justify
 their drug dependance. Stories of marijuana_s benefits from
 sick people with a prior history of marijuana abuse may be
 based on rationalizations caused by drug dependences not on
 any medical benefits caused by the drug_ Robert Randalls
 for example_ admits under oath to becoming a regular
 marijuana user in 1968, four years before he showed the
 first signs off and was diagnosed as having_ glaucoma°
 Since then he has smoked marijuana 8 to l0 times every day.
 A century ago many Americans relied on stories to pick
 their mediciness especially from snake oil salesmen° Thanks
 to scientific advances and to the passage of the Federal
 Foodf Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) i_. 1906, 2i U.SoC. 301 e t
 seq., we now rely on rigorous scientific proof to assure the
 safety and effectiveness of new drugs° Mere stories are not
 considered an acceptable way to judge whether dangerous
 drugs should be used as medicines°
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