August 1996: Federal drug czar Barry McCaffrey tells the San Francisco Chronicle "there is not a shred of scientific evidence that shows that smoked marijuana is useful or needed," adding, "This is not medicine. This is a cruel hoax." December 1996: Asked whether there is "any evidence...that marijuana is useful in a medical situation," McCaffrey says , "No, none at all." February 2001: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services files a patent application for the medical use of cannabinoids , saying they are "useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases," and "are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia." October 2003: The patent is granted. April 2006: The Food and Drug Administration says an "evaluation by several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies...concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use." July 2008: The Drug Enforcement Administration says "marijuana has no medical value that can't be met m ...
Anytime
