WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, meeting at its 102nd Annual Conference in Miami Beach, Florida, in October of 1995, passed a resolution strongly opposing any attempt to legalize the use of Schedule I drugs; and

WHEREAS, an initiative has been placed on the ballot in the State of California, for consideration by voters in November, which would allow a California physician, under certain conditions to “recommend” the use of marijuana for patients; and

WHEREAS, laboratory research in animals and humans has shown that the use of marijuana, which is more carcinogenic than tobacco, compromises brain functions, the immune system, the lungs, and hormonal responses to stress and metabolic change as well as making diseases such as tuberculosis, asthma and multiple sclerosis worse and does not prevent blindness due to glaucoma; and

WHEREAS, not one national health organization accepts marijuana as a medicine and many researchers adamantly state that marijuana has no medical benefit whatsoever; and

WHEREAS, the following organizations have stated that marijuana has not been shown scientifically to be safe or effective as a medicine: the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, National Multiple Sclerosis Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology, National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Strokes, National Institute of Dental Research, and the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1994 affirmed the decision of the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana remain a Schedule I substance; and

WHEREAS, it is neither rational nor compassionate to provide a harmful, addictive drug with no scientifically proven medical efficacy; and

WHEREAS, Proposition 215 in the State of California is dangerous and wrong because it would make marijuana available to the public without following the scientific process of the Food and Drug Administration for approval and regulation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), duly assembled at its 103rd annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, strongly opposes California Proposition 215 and urges the citizens of California to soundly defeat this ballot initiative or any other that would legalize the distribution and/ or use of marijuana.