Con

Francis L. Young, Administrative Law Judge for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) wrote in his Sep. 6, 1988 decision in a case attempting to reschedule marijuana so that it can be prescribed by physicians:

“Drugs used in medicine are routinely given what is called an LD-50. The LD-50 rating indicates at what dosage 50% of test animals receiving a drug will die as a result of drug induced toxicity…

At present it is estimated that marijuana’s LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means in order to induce death, a smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette.

NIDA-supplied [National Institute of Drug Abuse] marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately 0.9 grams. A smoker would have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about 15 minutes to induce a lethal response.

In practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug-related toxicity.”

Sep. 6, 1988