Resolution in Opposition to the Distribution and Use of Schedule I Drugs to Patients
WHEREAS, an initiative was passed in the states of Arizona and California, that allows
physicians, under certain conditions to prescribe Schedule I drugs for patients; and
WHEREAS, the dangerous drugs that are restricted under Schedule I include not only marijuana,
but heroin, LSD, amphetamines, phencyclidine and other hallucinogenic drugs; and
WHEREAS, laboratory research in animals and humans has shown that the use of marijuana,
which is more carcinogenic than tobacco, or other Schedule I drugs, compromises brain
functions, the immune system, the lungs, and hormonal responses to stress and metabolic change
as well as making diseases such as tuberculosis, asthma and multiple sclerosis worse and does
not prevent blindness due to glaucoma; and
WHEREAS, not one national health organization accepts marijuana or other Schedule I drugs as
a medicine and many researchers adamantly state that marijuana or other Schedule I drugs have
no medical benefit whatsoever; and
WHEREAS, the following organizations have stated that marijuana and other Schedule I drugs
have not been shown scientifically to be safe or effective as a medicine: the American Medical
Association, American Cancer Society, National Multiple Sclerosis Association, American
Academy of Ophthalmology, National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute
for Neurological Disorders and Strokes, National Institute of Dental Research, and the National
Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1994 affirmed the decision of the Administrator of the
Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana remain a Schedule I substance; and
WHEREAS, it is neither rational nor compassionate to provide a harmful, addictive drug with no
scientifically proven medical efficacy; and
WHEREAS, the passage initiatives in the states of Arizona and California are dangerous and
wrong because it will make Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, available to the public
without following the scientific process of the Food and Drug Administration for approval and
regulation; and
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Florida Police Chiefs Association, duly assembled at its Mid-Winter Conference in Orlando, Florida, strongly opposes the laws passed in Arizona (Proposition 200) and California (Proposition 215), encourages public and private organizations to work with us in partnership to inform the citizens of our state about the dangers and consequences of these initiatives and urges the citizens of Florida to soundly defeat any movement that would legalize the distribution and/or use of any Schedule I drug.