IA
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. J. RES. 117
Expressing the sense of Congress that marijuana is a dangerous and addictive
drug and should not be legalized for medicinal use.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 30, 1998
Mr. MCCOLLUM (for himself, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. COBLE, Mr.
BUYER, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. HUTCHINSON, and Mr.
GEKAS) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
JOINT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that marijuana is a dan-
gerous and addictive drug and should not be legalized
for medicinal use.
Whereas certain drugs are listed on Schedule I of the Con-
trolled Substances Act if they have a high potential for
abuse, lack any currently accepted medical use in treat-
ment, and are unsafe, even under medical supervision;
Whereas the consequences of addiction to Schedule I drugs
are well documented, particularly with regard to physical
health, highway safety, criminal activity, and domestic vi-
olence;
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Whereas marijuana—which, along with crack cocaine, heroin,
PCP, and more than 100 other drugs, has long been clas-
sified as a Schedule I drug—is both dangerous and ad-
dictive, with research clearly demonstrating that smoked
marijuana impairs normal brain functions and damages
the heart, lungs, reproductive system, and immune sys-
tem;
Whereas before any drug can be approved as a medication in
the United States, it must meet extensive scientific and
medical standards established by the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration, and marijuana has not been approved by
the Food and Drug Administration to treat any disease
or condition;
Whereas a review by the Annals of Internal Medicine of more
than 6,000 articles from the medical literature evaluating
the potential medicinal applications of marijuana con-
cluded that marijuana is not a medicine, that its use
causes significant toxicity, and that numerous safe and
effective medicines are available, which means that the
use of crude marijuana for medicinal purposes is unnec-
essary and inappropriate;
Whereas on the basis of the scientific evidence and the testi-
mony of the American Medical Association, the American
Cancer Society, the National Multiple Sclerosis Associa-
tion, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Na-
tional Eye Institute, and the National Institute of Drug
Abuse, marijuana has not met the necessary standards to
be approved as medicine;
Whereas the States of Arizona and California, through State
initiatives in 1996, legalized the sale and use of mari-
juana for ‘‘medicinal’’ use, while the State of Washington
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in 1997 rejected an initiative to legalize the sale and use
of marijuana for ‘‘medicinal’’ use;
Whereas after the initiative in Arizona, the legislature of the
State of Arizona, with the support of a majority of the
citizens of the State, passed legislation to prevent the dis-
pensing of any substance as medicine if the substance
had not first been approved as medicine by the Food and
Drug Administration, thereby preventing marijuana from
being dispensed in the State;
Whereas these States and a majority of States in the United
States, as well as the District of Columbia, have been
targeted by out-of-State organizations that advocate drug
legalization for ‘‘medical’’ marijuana initiatives in 1998
and 1999, and these organizations have provided the ma-
jority of the financial support for these State initiatives;
Whereas although some individuals and organizations who
support ‘‘medical’’ marijuana initiatives do oppose drug
legalization, prominent pro-legalization organizations
have admitted that their strategy is to promote drug le-
galization nationally through State ‘‘medical’’ marijuana
initiatives, and, as such, are seeking to exploit the
public’s compassion for the terminally ill to advance their
agenda;
Whereas marijuana use by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders de-
clined steadily from 1980 to 1992, but, from 1992 to
1996, such use dramatically increased—by 253 percent
among 8th graders, 151 percent among 10th graders,
and 84 percent among 12th graders—and the average
age of first-time use of marijuana is now younger than
it has ever been;
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Whereas according to the 1997 survey by the Center on Ad-
diction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University,
500,000 8th graders began using marijuana in the 6th
and 7th grades;
Whereas according to that same 1997 survey, youths between
the ages of 12 and 17 who use marijuana are 85 times
more likely to use cocaine than those who abstain from
marijuana and 60 percent of adolescents who use mari-
juana before the age of 15 will later use cocaine;
Whereas the rate of drug use among youth is linked to their
perceptions of the risks related to drugs and, in that re-
gard, the glamorization of marijuana and the ambiguous
cultural messages about marijuana use are contributing
to a growing acceptance of marijuana use among adoles-
cents and teenagers;
Whereas surveys taken in the wake of State ‘‘medical’’ mari-
juana initiatives indicate a more approving attitude to-
ward marijuana use among teenagers than prior to the
initiatives; and
Whereas the evidence of the last 2 years indicates that the
more the public learns about the facts behind the ‘‘medi-
cal’’ marijuana campaign, the more strongly opposed the
public becomes to such initiatives: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That—
(1) Congress is unequivocally opposed to legal-
izing marijuana for medicinal use, and urges the de-
feat of State initiatives that would seek to legalize
marijuana for medicinal use; and
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(2) not later than 90 days after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Attorney General shall sub-
mit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the
House of Representatives and the Senate a report
on—
(A) the total quantity of marijuana eradi-
cated in the United States during the years
1992 through 1997; and
(B) the annual number of arrests and
prosecutions for Federal marijuana offenses
during the years 1992 through 1997.
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