June 11, 2005
Doctors Applaud United States Supreme Court Decision To Ban ‘Medical Marijuana’
Press Release

Doctors For Life International (DFL), applauds the decision of the US Supreme Court to outlaw the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the United States. Even though DFL does not oppose continued clinical research into the uses of “Medical Marijuana”, science has clearly proved the adverse effects of using crude marijuana. DFL condones every effort made to ensure that medicines are effective, safe and scientifically validated and that they are free from pro-drug politics which is being promoted under the guise of “medicine”. DFL is happy that the US Supreme Courts’ pronouncement supports the judgement made by the South African Constitutional Court which banned the use of Marijuana. The Constitutional Court based it’s decision on scientific evidence supplied by DFL to the court in 2001.

DFL submitted expert medical evidence in the Prince case where the ban on smoking marijuana for religious purposes was challenged in the Constitutional Court. The evidence presented showed that the tar content of one joint of Cannabis is the equivalent of four tobacco cigarettes, and the carbon monoxide produced and the damage done to the airways by one joint is the equivalent of ten tobacco cigarettes. The evidence also demonstrates that Cannabis smokers have a 9-1O time’s higher risk of developing lung cancer. On this scientific evidence the Constitutional Court ruled that the smoking of marijuana should remain illegal in South Africa.

The US Supreme Court refused on Monday to sanction the use of marijuana for medical purposes by a vote of six to three. The court ruled that even though “medical marijuana” is allowed in ten states, users can still be prosecuted under federal law.