John Fleming

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Chair, I yield myself 2 minutes. My friend Mr. McClintock makes the point that this should be an experiment within the States, and certainly, that is something that has been a long-held goal and value, but we already have that ongoing. Today, Colorado, as everyone knows, has legalization of marijuana, notwithstanding what is going on with the Federal Government and its laws, and the information is rolling in, and the information is bad. The black market is worse than ever when it comes to drugs. Interstate commerce has increased, not decreased. Again, as I stated before, two States, Oklahoma and Nebraska, are now suing Colorado over the bleedover of problems that are occurring. The strength of marijuana is much stronger today in Colorado than it has ever been. The problems are much worse. We are actually seeing related deaths, accidents; and we have even had an overdose death now with the stronger forms of marijuana. Look, if this is about allowing doctors to work with their patients, let's admit it. We don't allow, as a society, doctors to just do anything with any patient. We do have some guidelines and restrictions. Furthermore, children are the end result of bad decisions in all this. We know that the more it is in the homes, the more it is going to get into the brains and bloodstream of children. Again, I will mention the number of problems that are developing from it are growing, mostly from what we are seeing in Colorado. Studies show that MRI scans show, even in casual users, profound brain changes. We see that the area that deals with ambition is being greatly affected, thus, the ambition killer sort of knowledge that we have and understand about this drug. IQ, studies show a lowering of IQ.

Mr. FLEMING. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds. There are synthetic marijuana equivalents that are useful--yes, indeed--but the drug itself, which is the smokeable part of it, is not safe and has not been accepted. Here is the thing. It is known to have brain development alterations; schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness, psychosis; heart complications; and an increased risk of stroke. A study recently found that even casual users experience severe brain abnormalities found on MRIs and that pot smoking leads to the loss of ambition; to lower IQs; and that it impairs attention, judgment, memory, and many other things. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).

Mr. FLEMING. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FLEMING. May I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Mr. FLEMING. Back to the constitutionality, we may all have different opinions about this, but it has been settled. The Supreme Court in 2005, Gonzales v. Raich, 6-3, said that the Federal Government does have a right to enforce drug policies and for good reason because we know that drugs cross State lines. It is an interstate commerce issue. What happens in one State affects the other States.

Mr. FLEMING. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FLEMING. I thank my good friend for yielding. Madam Chairman, years ago, one of the positions I served was as a director for drug addiction and alcoholism, and one of my duties was as a methadone doctor. This drug is really a new form of methadone. It can be applied and can be employed in the treatment of heroin addiction. But at the end of the day, it too is highly addictive. It is a scheduled drug, and it is abused. So it deserves the same kind of safeguards and protections and oversight as any other addictive drug. And so if my friends really want to see this used as an effective tool and not itself become a dangerous drug out on the open market being diverted and perhaps even sold on the black market, I suggest that we oppose this amendment and let's continue the good, strong oversight that we have under the CSA.

Mr. FLEMING. Madam Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. FLEMING. Madam Chair, the cultivation of cannabis for industrial purposes is governed by the Controlled Substances Act and permitted pursuant to the registration requirements found in title 21, United States Code. Let's face it, hemp is very closely related to cannabis. And DEA agents tell us that it is very difficult to detect, determine, and distinguish between hemp and marijuana, so it only makes their job more difficult. However, the Agricultural Act of 2014--and Mr. Massie just referred to this, I believe--permits institutions of higher learning and State departments of agriculture to grow or cultivate industrial hemp as defined in the statute for purposes of research conducted under an agricultural pilot program or other agricultural or academic research. In short, we are studying it, we are analyzing it, and we are evaluating it, but we don't have the results yet of those studies. I think it would be premature, especially considering the problem with the rapid expansion of the marijuana industry and the problems which I will speak about later this evening with marijuana and abuse of marijuana and the damage to brains of our children and so forth. The last thing I think that we want to do now is to create more problems for enforcement for the DEA. Madam Chairman, if we are going to study it, let's study it, but I do not believe it is time that we remove these restraints on industrial hemp. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FLEMING. Madam Chairman, who has the right to close?

Mr. FLEMING. Madam Chairman, I would just say in conclusion that DEA tells us otherwise, that it is difficult to distinguish. It is a problem for them. They are the ones who have to enforce this. Also, there isn't any product that you can get from hemp. Hemp production, industrial hemp is not abundant in many other ways, whether it is paper, rope, or what have you. So with that, it is not necessary. It is not some vital resource that we can't do without. It does create and complicate problems when it comes to the enforcement of schedule I drugs such as marijuana. Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute. First of all, I hear constantly of this idea about individual rights, about the 10th Amendment, et cetera. This was all settled back in 2005 in the Supreme Court with Gonzales v. Raich, which was a 6-3 victory in favor of the government's having preemptive rights when it comes to the drug laws, the CSA. That has been settled. We can claim this over and over again, but bring it back to the Court and see if you can change that. Now, how is this affecting us in real life? It is now legal in Colorado, but Nebraska and Oklahoma are now suing Colorado. Why? It is because of all of the problems that are developing across the State borders--again, interstate commerce, a big problem. Let's talk about the huge problem that marijuana represents. First of all, it has no accepted medical use.

Mr. FLEMING. Let me say, first of all, this whole idea of medical marijuana is a big joke. It is an end run around the laws. There are more pot shops in California than there are Starbucks or McDonald's; okay? Now, is it really a medical treatment? Well, the AMA says no. The American Society of Addiction Medicine says no. Even the American Glaucoma Society, which is of course in charge of glaucoma treatment, says that this is not a medical treatment for glaucoma. So there is no single approved use of marijuana for medical diseases. The whole idea about medical marijuana is to get around the laws on legalization or illegalization of marijuana. But make no mistake about it, the most common addiction diagnosis for young people admitted to drug treatment centers is addiction to marijuana. The rate is 9 percent addiction rate in adults; it is 17 percent in young people. We all know the studies show very clearly that the States that are more permissive have higher addiction and abuse rates than any others. We also know that NIDA tells us that it is a developmental disease. What does that mean? It means the younger a child is exposed to it, the more likely that child will later become an addict to something else, like methamphetamine, prescription drugs, heroin. So if you support this, which is really the legalization of marijuana, then you are really supporting allowing our children to be harmed and addicted to this terrible drug. Now, I am all in favor of research, and we are in discussions with DEA about allowing it in some way, whether we go to a 1a category to allow such research. Some suggest that it may have some benefit for seizures. That is yet to be seen. Some suggest that it may be beneficial to those who have spastic muscle disease, but there is absolutely no proof of that. So with that, I urge everyone to oppose this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FLEMING. Will the gentleman yield on that?

Mr. FLEMING. Okay. I am not going to dominate the gentleman's time. This has been under study for over 40 years. My university, the University of Mississippi, has been legally growing pot for over 40 years and studying it, so it has been studied.

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. FLEMING. I'm sorry, but I can't yield.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. I thank my good friend from Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today as a physician, as a father, and as a grandfather in support of H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. It is no surprise that unborn children as young as 20 weeks postfertilization feel, respond to, and recoil from pain. These tiny forming human beings make faces, yawn, stretch, and suck their thumbs. I have my own granddaughter, who is now about 20 months of age. When we viewed her 4-D ultrasound, her face compared to today is almost exactly the same. It is unbelievable how humanlike, how much like a baby, a baby really is in the womb because--let's admit it--it is a child; it is a human life. We celebrate when our friends and families post these precious ultrasound pictures. In fact, life is always a celebration, and it is only right that we should be vigilant to ensure that the womb remains the most peaceful, protected place for a child to grow and be nurtured. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 36, which will protect children in the fifth month of development from the excruciating pain and intended violent death of an abortion.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. I thank the gentlewoman. Madam Speaker, the question tonight is clearly the evisceration of the U.S. Constitution by the District of Columbia. Don't take my word for it. Even the former Mayor of D.C., who agrees ideologically with the D.C. Council, warned his colleagues that the D.C. bill was ``legally insufficient,'' ``legally problematic,'' and ``raises concerns under the Constitution and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.'' RHNDA discriminates against mission-driven organizations located in the Nation's Capital, impinging on the freedom of association and religion for advocacy groups, particularly religious and pro-life affiliates, our neighbors right here in the District of Columbia. I ask we vote ``yes.''

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. I thank my friend, the chairman, for yielding. As a practicing physician and a veteran myself, the way we approach health care is not to just allow any healthcare provider to do whatever he or she wants to do at the time. That is simply not the way health care works. Let's look specifically at the problem of PTSD, which is one of the worst problems that we are dealing with today among veterans. What have we found just in the last year? Smoking pot increases psychotic episodes by a factor of two to four times normal. The conversion to schizophrenia, a permanent mental disorder, is enhanced by pot by a factor of two--double. Why in the world would we give a drug that is addictive, that is prohibited under schedule I, that is not accepted for any specific mental disease or disorder and enhances psychosis and schizophrenia, why are we going to give that to our veterans, especially those with PTSD? That is just absolutely insane.