norml22 - Page 5

 Io THE C_SSIFICATION OF MARIJU_A AS A SCHEDULE I DRUG IS
 A, Several Court Decisions Have Declared Marijuana
 Laws Unconstitutional on Misclassification Grounds
 Similar to Those B__ised in This _C_QL_
 In _______v___Zornes, 78 Wash. 2d 9_ 469 P.2d 552 (1970),
 the defendant was convicted for possession of marijuana under a
 statute that classified marijuana as a narcotic. The Supreme
 Court of Washington compared empirical evidence on the effects of
 marijuana with evidence of the effects of narcotics and concluded
 that the effects of the drugs were so different that the
 statutory classification was arbitrary and irrational. Noting
 that it 'ais doubtful whether a legislatiw_ declaration contrary
 to all the evidence can be sustained as constitutional," the
 court held that the convictions could not stand. _ at 20.
 In _eople v_ J_c_C_Lb_ 49 Ill. 2d 338, 275 N.Eo2d 407 (1971),
 the Supreme Court of Illinois held that classification of
 marijuana with narcotic drugs under the state Narcotic Drug Act
 was arbitrary and deprived the defendant of the constitutional
 guarantee of equal protection of the lawso After comparing the
 effects of marijuana with those of narcotics and other dangerous
 drugs, the court concluded:
 Observations to be drawn on marijuana are
 that it is not a narcotic and it is not truly
 addictible° Its use does not involve
 tolerance, physical dependence or the
 withdrawal syndrome° Physical ill effects
 from its use ares so far as is known,
 relatively moderate. Its abuse does not have
 the profound and ill consequences observed in
 the use of some of the other drugs
 4