Dear Mr. Attorney General:
I was intrigued by your letter of February 8 where you stated your concerns with marijuana usage. I have shared your letter with Dr. William Mayer, Administrator, Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA), and Dr. William Pollin, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse/ADAMHA. Had not been incapacitated with a kidney stone, I would have been back to you before this time with our thoughts on this matter.
A copy of the marijuana report prepared by the Institute of Medicine, commissioned by the National Institutes of Health, is on its way to you. Upon review of that report, you can see the problems it presents in making the kind of statement that you and I would both like to see made. Unfortunately, the media has down played the negative impace of the report.
I will be back to you as soon as Dr. Mayer, Dr. Pollin and I have had an opportunity to discuss this matter in perspective considering other substance abuse among young people.
Sincerely,
C. Everett Koop, M.D.
Surgeon General