norml21 - Page 78

 of these studies and reports will be summarized below:
 I. In The Matter Of MARIJUANA
 RESCHEDULING PETITION
 In In The Matter Of Harijpana ResGhedjlin_1 No. 86-22
 (AoL.J. Young, Sept. 6, 1986), various agencies petitioned to
 have marijuana reclassified from a Schedule I to a Schedule II
 substance under the c _
 _on_rolled Substance Act In addition to
 finding that there were valid and accepted medical uses for
 marijuana, and recommending that marijuana be reclassified so
 that it may be available by prescription, judge Young made the
 following findings of fact:
 4. Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially
 lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance.
 There is no record in the extensive medical literature
 describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced
 fatality°
 5. This is a remarkable statement. First, the record
 on marijuana encompasses 5,000 years of human
 experience. Second, marijuana is now used daily by
 enormous numbers of people throughout the world.
 Estimates suggest that from twenty mi[_lion to fifty
 million Americans routinely, albeit if%legally, smoke
 marijuana without the benefit of medical supervision.
 Yet, despite this long history of use and the
 extraordinarily high numbers of social smokers, there
 are simply no credible medical reports to suggest that
 consuming marijuana has caused a single death.
 6. By contrasts aspirin, a commonly used, over-the-
 counter medicine, causes hundreds of deaths each year°
 7o Drugs used in medicine are routinely given what is
 called an LD-50o The LD-50 rating indicates at what
 dosage fifty percent of test animals receiving a drug
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