The Situation: The Controlled Substances Act, passed by Congress in 1970, classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, one with high potential for abuse and no medical value (NOTE: Cocaine is classified less stringently as a Schedule II drug; Marinol, a synthetic version of THC, one of the many active ingredients in cannabis, is a Schedule III drug.) The 2001 Supreme Court ruling on the medical use of marijuana states that because Congress has declared marijuana a highly dangerous (in the same category as LSD and heroin), those who want to use it for medicinal purposes cannot claim medical necessity as a defense.

HR 2233, The States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act", now on the floor of Congress, would allow states to determine whether their citizens can use marijuana for medical purposes. This bill will reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, which would recognize that there are valid and important medicinal uses for marijuana. It would also amend the Federal Controlled Substances Act to allow physicians to prescribe and recommend marijuana for medical use where permitted by law. The bill also allows the medical use of marijuana in states which have, by statute or referendum, enacted legislation to allow such use under the guidance of physicians.

What you can do: Go to Thomas (http://thomas.loc.gov) and enter HR 2233 or HR1717 in the search field to learn more about the legislation and who the co-sponsors are. If your representative is not a co-sponsor, contact him/her and tell him/her that you support these bills and would like him/her to become a co-sponsor (http://www.house.gov or phone: 202-224-2131).

You can also visit the NORML (http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/bills/) and the Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org/USA/) websites for "point and click" letter/fax writing tools to the House and Senate.

Note: If you want your message to have the greatest impact, personalize the message and send it ON PAPER to your Congressional Representative (see below).

What You Can Do: Visit the Marijuana Policy Project website to see what the current laws and pending legislation are in your state. Write to your state representatives to tell them your views on whether marijuana should be made available as a medicine for those who might benefit from its use.