To the Editor:

The Obama administration’s recent crackdown on growers and sellers of medical marijuana is totally justified. The federal government is trying to protect vulnerable people from the use of marijuana as medicine, since the drug is not proved safe or effective.

All medications, particularly those containing controlled substances, should be required to meet the rigorous criteria of the Food and Drug Administration approval process. That process has been carefully constructed over the last century to protect patient health and safety.

There are compelling reasons to hold “medical” marijuana to the same standard. The 16 states that passed laws approving marijuana as a medicine did so through a political process, not a scientific one. This alone sets a dangerous precedent.