Pro

“Designating medicine through ballot initiatives would undermine the long-established process which ensures that substances provided to the American public as medicines have undergone rigorous scientific scrutiny.

This procedure protects Americans from unproven, ineffective, or dangerous treatments. Allowing a purported medication to circumvent federal approval does a grave disservice to the public, because the process guarantees that drugs are safe and effective, that the benefits outweigh risks, and that physicians have had sufficient information to permit accurate prescription.

Making an exception for marijuana would create a dangerous precedent. Medicine must be based on science rather than ideology. Misusing ballot initiatives to exempt medications from proper testing would also give a sales advantage to anyone seeking to market medical products without investing in the requisite scientific research.”

Mar. 4, 2002