vol1 - Page 371

 DEA, however_ claim marijuana has Wno accepted medica_
 use in treatment in the United States # and argues marijuana is
 _unsafe.for use under medical supervision_ N
 In support of its position the Agency offers the
 testimony of federal officials_ federal contractors, federal
 grant recipients and several learned men involved in science and
 medicine.
 To sustain its claim, DEA ignores legal determinations
 marijuana can be a drug of mmedical ._ °
 nece0=slty, m dismisses the
 very real and immediate needs of seriously ill patients, seeks to
 discredit the testimony of patients_ physicians, researchers,
 experts and other witnesses_ misreads the intent of the state
 legislatures, ridicules FDA_approved_ state-authorized studies of
 marijuana's medical use in treatment as _loosely controlled n,
 denigrates the scientific conclusions reached by federally
 licensed investigators and summarily rejects the findings of
 controlled scientific and medical evaluations.
 The Alliances in defining Uaccepted medical use in
 treatment _ constructs a flexible_ realistic, workable standard i_
 keeping with the plain meaning of the statute and the intent of
 Congress. The Alliance's standard comprehends that the
 evaluation of each _acceptance _ into medical use requires a
 balancing of needs; the needs of patients for adequate care; the
 needs of practitioners seeking to relieve suffering. The
 Alliance's standard is informed by the realities of medical
 .... practice, the limitations of science, a recognition of the
 necessity to balance the risks and benefits of any therapy and
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