norml21 - Page 78
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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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