-Caveat Lector- Drug czar and drug-warrior-in-chief, General Barry McCaffrey recently spoke in Europe; his "War counsel" was not particularly well recieved ... pretty interesting short article below indicates possibility that marijuana drug tests may become easily nullified. Dave Hartley http://www.Asheville-Computer.com http://www.ioa.com/~davehart -----Original Message----- From: "Peter McWilliams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Drug Czar nullifies need for drug test! Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 18:01:44 -0800 Here's a piece I wrote for December Playboy. I couldn't circulate it before now because I promised not to until it was in print, but now that the December issue is on the stands, here it is. Please circulate this information widely. By the way, the Playboy Forum (in each issue of Playboy but, alas, not in the online edition) is an excellent source of information on consensual crimes. Enjoy, Peter ------------- Playboy December 1999 THE GENERAL'S LOOPHOLE Drug Czar Cripples Reefer Tests In his most recent round of unintended self-immolation, drug czar Barry McCaffrey effectively nullified drug testing for marijuana users nationwide. In a move that he hoped would bring the medical marijuana movement to its knees, the retired general instead gave pot smokers legal carte blanche to fail every urine test they take. Here's how it happened: This past July, the Drug Enforcement Administration, with a nod from the Food and Drug Administration, reclassified the prescription drug Marinol, which is synthetic THC, the most psychoactive of marijuana's many cannabinoids. Marinol was moved from Schedule II, the most restrictive category of drugs available by prescription, to Schedule III. The change makes it much easier for doctors to distribute the drug. Notably, they now can phone or fax prescriptions to pharmacies and provide for as many as five automatic refills every six months. They also won't have the DEA looking over their shoulder each time they write a Marinol prescription. McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, used the reclassification to again attack the idea of marijuana as medicine, calling Marinol the only "safe and proper way" to make THC available to the public. "This action will make Marinol, which is scientifically proven to be safe and effective for medical use, more widely available," McCaffrey said, implying that marijuana itself is not safe or effective, despite much evidence to the contrary. The government's message is clear: Now that "safe and proper" Marinol is more readily available, we don't need to legalize unsafe and improper marijuana for medical use. This plan worked once before, which seems to have given McCaffrey some confidence it will work again. In the mid- Eighties, when marijuana was on the verge of being reclassified so it could be legally prescribed, the federal government funded the development of Marinol and pushed it through the FDA approval process. It then used the availability of synthetic THC as a pretext for refusing to remove marijuana from the same forbidden Schedule I classification it shares with heroin and other narcotics. So while they have the same active ingredient, marijuana remains forbidden while Marinol moves into the polite society of Tylenol with codeine. How easy is it to get a prescription for Marinol? Very easy. Doctors are permitted to provide any prescription drug for "off-label" use. That is, if a doctor determines that a prescription drug labeled by the manufacturer to treat, say, nausea, would also be effective for treating pain, the doctor can prescribe it for pain. This is going to happen with more frequency. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, which McCaffrey praises as "the most comprehensive summary and analysis of what is known about the medical use of marijuana," concluded that THC could be useful not only to stimulate appetite in AIDS patients and prevent the nausea that's caused by cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, but also to relieve chronic pain. (The full report, Marijuana and Medicine, is available online at books.nap.edu.) The potential for Marinol to treat chronic pain is enormous. Experts estimate at least 75 million Americans suffer from chronic, debilitating pain. This includes pain caused by cancer, arthritis, migraine headaches and severe back injuries. Seventy-five million! That means nearly half the adult population of the U.S. is properly and legally entitled to Marinol and, by extension, free from the burden of passing clean urine. There is no legally recognized test that distinguishes between the synthetic THG of Marinol and the natural THC of marijuana. Once a testee obtains a prescription for Marinol and shows it to the drug-testing authorities, THC levels in urine, hair, saliva and sweat no longer indicate a failed drug test. The test comes up dirty, but the prescription washes it clean. Employers aren't able to say, "You can't use Marinol if you work here," because it's a legal and now widely prescribed drug. Marinol could become as big as Viagra. (Marinol is a great high, too, rather like eating hash brownies. Don't even think about driving on it. Marinol's makers suggest you take your first dose only in the presence of "a responsible adult.") So, in his cruel attempt to keep an ancient medicine from modern sufferers, Contrary Barry has created a loophole that allows all users to use their drug of choice and keep their jobs. McCzar, this bud's for you. ================================================================< DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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