Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legalized?

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Dozens of professional organizations and governmental bodies have endorsed medical cannabis (marijuana). Most recently, the American College of Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Medical Students Section of the American Medical Association all made public declarations in support of the advancement of medical cannabis. The ACP, which is the second largest physician group in the U.S., published a position paper in February 2008 urging the federal government to consider “reclassification [of marijuana] into a more appropriate schedule, given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana’s safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions.”

In 2006, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society provided more than $1 million to the University of California Center for Medical Cannabis Research in order to study the effects of cannabis on spasticity in MS patients. In July 2007, the MS Society announced the formation of a cannabis task force, chaired by noted expert Dr. Alan J. Thompson.

Other professional and governmental endorsements of medical cannabis include: AIDS Action Council, American Medical Women’s Association, American Nurses Association, American Pain Foundation, American Public Health Association, California Nurses’ Association, Doctors of the World-USA, Lymphoma Foundation of American, Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Women’s Health Network, British Medical Association, French Ministry of Health, and Health Canada.

Public opinion is also clearly in favor of ending the prohibition of medical cannabis. According to a 2002 CNN/Time poll, 80% of Americans support medical cannabis. The AARP, which touts 35 million members, released a national poll in 2004 showing that nearly two-thirds of older Americans support legal access to medical cannabis.