Res. No. 1260-A
Resolution calling on the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which seeks to reclassify marijuana as other than a Schedule I or Schedule II substance.
By Council Members Koppell, Dromm, James, Koo, Levin, Nelson, Palma, Rose, Williams, Rodriguez, Mendez, Van Bramer, Barron and Mark-Viverito
Whereas, Narcotics and other chemicals that are considered controlled substances under the United States Controlled Substances Act ("CSA") are divided into five schedules; and
Whereas, The Schedule I classification applies to a category of substances considered by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") to contain no legitimate medical value and exhibit a high potential of dependence; and
Whereas, Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, is a narcotic classified by the federal government as a Schedule I substance; and
Whereas, Narcotics that share the same Schedule I classification with marijuana are heroin and ecstasy; and
Whereas, The DEA categorizes Schedule II substances, such as opium and morphine, as drugs that are considered to have a strong potential for abuse or addiction and which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence; and
Whereas, In 2009, the American Medical Association announced that it would support clinical research of medical marijuana and urged the federal government to reassess its Schedule I classification of the drug; and
Whereas, According to studies conducted by the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, medical marijuana should be the first line of treatment for patients with neuropathy and other serious illnesses; and
Whereas, There are currently twenty states, including New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia, that have enacted laws legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana; and
Whereas, These states recognize that medical marijuana can be used to alleviate patients' suffering from debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer and multiple sclerosis; and
Whereas, The United States government continues to classify marijuana as a drug for which there is no medicinal value; and
Whereas, The divergence in state and federal law creates a problematic situation where there is no comprehensively regulated system to supply legitimate patients who are in need of medical marijuana; and
Whereas, H.R. 689, also known as the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which is currently pending in the United States House of Representatives, seeks to reclassify marijuana as other than a Schedule I or Schedule II substance; and
Whereas, The States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act would exempt states where medical marijuana is legal from provisions in the CSA prohibiting the prescription, distribution, possession, and use of marijuana; and
Whereas, Enacting the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act would protect medical marijuana patients and their providers from federal criminal penalties in states that have legalized marijuana for medical use; and
Whereas, The long-standing classification of marijuana in the United States as an illegal Schedule I substance is fundamentally flawed and should be changed; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which seeks to reclassify marijuana as other than a Schedule I or Schedule II substance.
WJH/CGP
LS 3242
11/12/13