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Doctors to Feds: Marijuana is medicine
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Philadelphia marijuana vigil 7/11/09 - C. David Freitag
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The American Medical Association has stepped boldly forward into the modern era of medical marijuana asking that cannabis be removed from Schedule I in the federal Controlled Substances Act. The new stance materialized on November 10th when AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) issued a report entitled, Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes.
The CSAPH report detailed and affirmed the medical benefits of marijuana while calling for further research into cannabinoids. The report concluded that, "short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis."
In strong language to the federal government the report also asks that, "the Schedule I status of marijuana be reviewed with the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."
This pragmatic reversal on the part of the largest physician group in the United States also represents a full circle for the influential organization. In 1937 the AMA opposed the first federal marijuana prohibition law during congressional hearings.
Their Legislative Council at the time, William Woodward, prophetically stated: “the prevention of the use of the drug for medicinal purposes can accomplish no good end whatsoever. How far it may serve to deprive the public of the benefits of a drug that on further research may prove to be of substantial value, it is impossible to foresee."
In December 2009 New Jersey will have final votes on a medical marijuana bill and Pennsylvania will have their first public hearings. This announcement from the AMA should ring the bell for state elected officials that they can provide their citizens with legal protections and cannabis access while federal policy continues to evolve.
For more information please visit the website of Americans for Safe Access who helped spur this new direction for the AMA. http://www.safeaccessnow.org/
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