norml22 - Page 30
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three criteria for placement in Schedule I.
4. Marijuana is Classified with Dissimilar and
Much More Dangerous _ub_/_ces ....
The classification of marijuana in Schedule i is also
arbitrary and irrational because marijuana is a much less
dangerous substance than the other substances included in
Schedule I, particularly heroin and the hallucinogens.
Marijuana, '_although within the prohibited class, is so different
from others of the class as to be without the reason for the
prohibition.': I/Dj__C__ates_q__Ca_oleDg__P_r_oduqts_CQ_ _!iP__A_ at
153=54. In fact, marijuana has a much lower potential for abuse
than the substances listed in Schedules II-V of the Acts
including the barbiturates_ amphetamines, and central nervous
system depressants.
_roi_o (CSA Schedule I). Heroin is the most commonly used
narcotic in the United States. It produces a feeling of total
numbness, indifference to paine and complete drive satiation.
Jaffe, D/ILg__hd_ict_iQ_ancL_Drag U_, in Goodman and Gilman, Eds.,
The Pharmacologic s" ra °
(1970), at pg. 284°
The primary harmful effect of heroin use is the rapid development
of addiction° The phenomenon of addiction is in turn comprised
of two elements: tolerance, a diminished effect of the drug upon
repeated administrations, or conversely, a need to take larger
and larger doses to obtain the initial effect, and the withdrawal
syndrome, a series of regular symptoms experienced by the addict
when drug use is discontinued:
[I]f the addicted individual is deprived
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