Don Nickles: “I do not think they ever wrote a letter saying they were opposed to the bill. He made it sound like they did. I do not…”

“I do not think they ever wrote a letter saying they were opposed to the bill. He made it sound like they did. I do not know if they did. He has one that is maybe questionable on the bill. We have dozens which spent a lot of time supporting us. The National Hospice Association, the group that takes in individuals in their later years, particularly in the years where they are close to death, supports this bill. So the allegations that this might have a chilling impact is hogwash. To make an allegation that this might be offensive to States rights is absolute hogwash. That is not correct. We are not overturning Oregon's law. Oregon cannot overturn Federal statute. Do we want to repeal the Federal Controlled Substances Act? The Federal Government has been controlling these strong drugs before that act. There was another act that passed years before, but the Federal Controlled Substances Act is what I am amending and clarifying that legitimate medical purposes includes pain management. What is wrong with that? It also says assisted suicide is not a legitimate medical purpose. Think of that. We have had a Federal statute on the books since 1970 to control very strong drugs because we know they are deadly, we know they are hazardous. So the Federal Government passed a law regulating these drugs.”