7 July 2004
Mr. FARR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1
minute to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. PAUL).
2004 Ron Paul 48:1
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
2004 Ron Paul 48:2
Mr. Chairman, I, too, am a physician from Texas, but I have a little different
opinion about Marinol. No doctor that
I know of ever prescribes Marinol.
2004 Ron Paul 48:3
I think marijuana is a helpful medical treatment for the people who have
intractable nausea. I would like to
point out this is not something strange
that we are suggesting here. For the
first 163 years of our history in this
country, the Federal Government had
total hands off, they never interfered
with what the States were doing. They
interfered only after 1938 through tax
law. So this is something new.
2004 Ron Paul 48:4
The States rights issue is almost a dead issue in the Congress, but we
ought to continue to talk about it, and
I am delighted somebody has brought
this up.
2004 Ron Paul 48:5
But if you do have compassion and care for patients, they ought to have a
freedom of choice. I think that is what
this is all about, freedom of choice.
2004 Ron Paul 48:6
I would like to point out one statistic. One year prior to 9/11 there were
750,000 arrests of people who used marijuana;
there was one arrest for a suspect
that was committing terrorism.
Now, that, to me, is a misdirected law
enforcement program that we could
help address here by at least allowing
the States to follow the laws that they
already have on the books.