In the recent response to the overwhelmingly popular petitions involving marijuana, Gil Kerlikowske states that
"To date.. neither the FDA nor the Institute of Medicine have found smoked marijuana to meet the modern standard for safe or effective medicine for any condition."
We the People would like to know when exactly alcohol and tobacco met the modern standard for any form of safety.
Deaths caused by direct alcohol and tobacco use occur by the hundreds of thousands every year, not including all of the lives lost due to drunk driving, etc.
“If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on." - Terence McKenna