Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401060156
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Dr. Philip Lee, assistant secretary for health, said the administration agreed to take another look at the ban after being asked to do so by several members of Congress, including Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House subcommittee on health.
"The review is in keeping with the practices of regularly reviewing policies and procedures but does not signal a change in the current policy, nor implies that current policy will be reversed," Lee said in a statement. One health official called the process "fairly routine."
Nevertheless, the issue could further fuel the uproar created by Surgeon Gen. Joycelyn Elders, when she suggested in recent remarks that the question of legalizing drugs deserved more study.
From 1976 until 1992, the federal government allowed a small number of individuals on a case-by-case basis to take the illegal drug for medicinal purposes. Those included relieving the nausea and appetite loss that is often a side effect of cancer and AIDS therapy, easing muscle spasms associated with spinal cord injuries or multiple sclerosis, and lessening eye pressure in those suffering from glaucoma.
But in a March 1992 ruling, the Bush administration discontinued the program, saying the drug's therapeutic value was unproven and that it could cause harm to some patients. Its use has been associated with lung ailments and other problems.
At the time, about 15 patients were taking the drug under the special program and were allowed to continue. But hundreds of others who had applied for permission were denied.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.