Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legalized?

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Federal scientific reviews from several Western nations strongly support the legal use of medicinal cannabis. These include a 1998 report by Britain¹s House of Lords Science and Technology Committee that concluded: The government should allow doctors to prescribe cannabis for medical use. ...Cannabis can be effective in some patients to relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and against certain forms of pain. ... This evidence is enough to justify a change in the law.
 
A 1999 review by the US Institute of Medicine (conducted at the request of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy) added, The accumulated data indicate a potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation, and recommended Congress immediately authorize single patient clinical trials whereupon subjects could legally use inhaled cannabis medicinally in a controlled setting.
 
The Institute of Medicine also reviewed the medical efficacy of the FDA-approved synthetic oral THC drug Dronabinol (Marinol) and concluded it to have poor bioavailability, slow onset, and adverse effects such as anxiety, depersonalization, dizziness, euphoria, dysphoria, [and] somnolence in approximately one-third of patients who use it. Authors noted that many patients prefer natural cannabinoids or inhaled cannabis over this legal alternative because they are fast-acting (allowing consumers to self-titrate the dose), less dsyphoric, and, in general, provide greater therapeutic relief than synthetic THC. Many experts believe that the synergism of the multiple cannabinoids found naturally in cannabis is likely more efficacious than the administration of synthetic THC alone.
 
More recently, an overview of cannabis’ medical efficacy conducted by the Canadian Senate’s Special Committee on Illegal Drugs in 2002 advised Parliament to revise federal regulations so that any person affected by one of the following [medical conditions]: wasting syndrome; chemotherapy treatment; fibromyalgia; epilepsy; multiple sclerosis; accident-induced chronic pain; and some physical conditions including migraines and chronic headaches, whose physical state has been certified by a physician or an individual duly authorized by the competent medical association of the province or territory in question, may choose to buy cannabis and its derivatives for therapeutic purposes. Today, Canadians can legally choose between using natural cannabis, as authorized by Health Canada, or the natural marijuana extract spray Sativex.