The opposition has some problems with the facts

A group calling itself "Vote No Initiative 13" has a website. On it there is a page titled:

"Nothing but the Facts"

Here are some purported facts from the page, and some actual facts.

Smoking is an ineffective way to deliver medicine - dosage cannot be regulated, and tar and other harmful compounds are delivered directly to the lungs.

ACTUAL FACT: Smoking is an extremely efficient way to deliver vapor to the bloodstream.

Cannabis is self-regulating. A novice should be advised to inhale a small amount and wait a few minutes, then more if the desired effect has not yet been reached. There simply isn’t the possibiility of an overdose in the normal sense (the potential for physical damage is not there like it is with, say, oxycodone).

While particulates are delivered to the lungs when inhaling cannabis smoke, there is no evidence that particulates from cannabis cause lung damage. In any event, no one, not even a daily “recreational” user, inhales even 1/4 the amount of smoke as does a pack-a-day cigarette smoker.


Other delivery methods aren't safe either; vaporizing does not filter cancer-causing tar or other chemicals, and eating delivers the same damaging compounds as well as the insecticides and other chemicals found in unmonitored crops.

ACTUAL FACT: Vaporization refers to passing very hot air over and through cannabis buds. The beneficial compounds are vaporized at a lower temperature than causes combustion, so there are almost no particulates in cannabis vapor.


Clinical research to date has found limited value in only one compound in Marijuana of which their is FDA approval.

ACTUAL FACT: Aside from the lousy spelling and tortured sentence construction, this appears to be a “fact” with no relevance.

There are dozens of compounds in cannabis. Scientists are observing that growers can manipulate the balance of the compounds, and create combinations that work better for some medical conditions than others.


Research is also being conducted into a controlled, tested, safe delivery system (that can be prescribed and managed) of the helpful compound in marijuana without any of the harmful chemicals or dangerous side effects.

ACTUAL FACT: Good. Let’s let patients use what we already know will work for some people for some conditions. We’d expect improvements in the delivery system, as we do with everything in life.


Doctors cannot prescribe a non-FDA approved substance such as marijuana, they can only recommend it in medical excuse marijuana states.

ACTUAL FACT: The writer gets cute here while saying something that is irrelevant.


Crude smoked marijuana has been rejected by major reputable national medical associations in the country including the American Medical Association, the American Opthamalic Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the American Cancer Society.

ACTUAL FACT: The AMA recommends both allowing use now and conducting further research. The American Cancer Society and the MS Society are political organizations vying for federal money as well as private donations. (Nice spelling on Opthalmic)


Reports compiled by the Department of Health and Human Services dating from 1999-2006 find states that have legalized marijuana under the guise of medicine continue to rank in the top ten for states with the highest marijuana use in the 12 and older age category.

ACTUAL FACT: Youth use has declined everywhere cannabis is accepted as medicine.


The Drug Enforcement Administration has a five-part test for determining whether a drug is in "currently accepted medical use." The test requires that:
1. the drug's chemistry must be known and reproducible
2. there must be adequate safety studies
3. there must be adequate and well-controlled studies providing efficacy
4. the drug must be accepted by qualified experts
5. the scientific evidence must be widely available
Medical Marijuana does not meet these criteria.


ACTUAL FACTS:
The DEA has consistently denied universities and other logical testing labs the ability to conduct studies on various aspects of cannabis.

Both efficacy and safety have been demonstrated by several centuries of cannabis use by people.

Many qualified experts accept its efficacy.

There are tons of scientific evidence, along with a larger volume of anecdotal evidence than has ever existed for a medical product looking for accreditation.

Please note that nowhere on the "No on 13" site is the assertion that cannabis has "no medical use."