To discourage voters in Michigan from approving a medical marijuana referendum on the ballot there, Drug Czar John Walters pulled out his usual despicable lies. His claims in Michigan this week included:
--Medical marijuana laws lead to “people who are dependent on this drug using the medical excuse to acquire the drug, to use the drug, to remain dependent, to get more teenagers and pre-teenagers to use.” (In fact, teen marijuana use has consistently declined in states with medical marijuana laws.)
--Marijuana has no legitimate medical use. (In fact, the American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Lymphoma Foundation of America, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and dozens of other medical organizations recognize marijuana's medical value.)
Once again, the White House drug czar is using taxpayer money to lie and interfere in a state ballot initiative campaign.
This isn't the first time that the drug czar's office has campaigned against a state initiative. In fact, the drug czar makes a habit of targeting the Marijuana Policy Project. He campaigned against the medical marijuana laws that MPP successfully passed in Rhode Island in January of 2006 and in Montana and Vermont in 2004. And he has a history of swarming the airwaves with misleading and fear-mongering TV ads during the last two weeks of MPP's campaigns, so we expect the lies to escalate.
Marijuana Policy Project:
www.mpp.org
