Washington Journal - Medical Marijuana

From C-Span -- William Hubbard, a Coalition for a Stronger FDA senior adviser, takes calls from people who question his policies on drugs. One caller questions why many other drugs that are advertised with dozens of side effects are legal, while marijuana is not legal for medical use. There are no side effects of marijuana and nobody has ever died from it. Hubbard addresses the advertising aspect of the query, telling the caller that consumers and physicians worry about drug companies' ability to advertise directly on television. This is a problem because it causes the consumer to rush out and ask its doctor for a drug that he doesn't really need. But the First Amendment prohibits the FDA from banning advertising entirely.