AMA Ends 72-Year Policy, Says Marijuana has Medical Benefits
HOUSTON --- The American Medical Association (AMA) voted today to reverse its long-held position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research. The CSAPH 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." Furthermore, the report urges 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."
The change of position by the largest physician-based group in the country was precipitated in part by a resolution adopted in June of 2008 by the Medical Student Section (MSS) of the AMA in support of the reclassification of marijuana's status as a Schedule I substance. In the past year, the AMA has considered three resolutions dealing with medical marijuana, which also helped to influence the report and its recommendations. The AMA vote on the report took place in Houston, Texas during the organization's annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. The last AMA position, adopted 8 years ago, called for maintaining marijuana as a Schedule I substance, with no medical value.
"It's been 72 years since the AMA has officially recognized that marijuana has both already-demonstrated and future-promising medical utility," said Sunil Aggarwal, Ph.D., the medical student who spearheaded both the passage of the June 2008 resolution by the MSS and one of the CSAPH report's designated expert reviewers. "The AMA has written an extensive, well-documented, evidence-based report that they are seeking to publish in a peer-reviewed journal that will help to educate the medical community about the scientific basis of botanical cannabis-based medicines." Aggarwal is also on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest medical marijuana advocacy organization in the U.S.
The AMA's about face on medical marijuana follows an announcement by the Obama Administration in October discouraging U.S. Attorneys from taking enforcement actions in medical marijuana states. In February 2008, a resolution was adopted by the American College of Physicians (ACP), the country's second largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine. The ACP resolution called for an "evidence-based review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance to determine whether it should be reclassified to a different schedule. "The two largest physician groups in the U.S. have established medical marijuana as a health care issue that must be addressed," said ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson. "Both organizations have underscored the need for change by placing patients above politics."
Though the CSAPH report has not been officially released to the public, AMA documentation indicates that it: "(1) provides a brief historical perspective on the use of cannabis as medicine; (2) examines the current federal and state-based legal envelope relevant to the medical use of cannabis; (3) provides a brief overview of our current understanding of the pharmacology and physiology of the endocannabinoid system; (4) reviews clinical trials on the relative safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis and botanical-based products; and (5) places this information in perspective with respect to the current drug regulatory framework."
Further information:
Executive Summary of AMA Report
Recommendations of AMA Report
American College of Physicians resolution
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Marijuana-Related Databases on Opposing Views
See a state-by-state list of the effects of marijuana legislation.
OV Social
Legalization in CA would have been a good message. Prop19 was oppossed by many who where "pro pot" But this is also a great step towards science and sanity
It's one year later now, and this important announcement changed absolutely nothing!
We have to now look at the entire way our government functions, and moreover, who, and what, control our government. The government seems hell-bent on keeping as many people in jail as possible for a crime which is scientifically absolutely unsupportable.
Time to take out the trash in Washington. Yeah, I know we just had an election. Do you think it made a difference? Obama didn't, and this latest round of "Changers" needs to be closely watched, and heavily leaned on, and if they continue the fascist state we currently are oppressed by, then we have to change the whole system. A system which keeps innocent people in jail is neither democratic nor popular, and the people need to defend themselves. We've been played for 73 years, but it's no game, folks.
About bloody time, it only took these apparent experts 70 or so years to reach the truth that normal people have known all along.
Can I take it that they will now be petitioning government and the UN to change their stance on cannabis classification?
For many years people who use marijuana for recrational or medicinal purposes have been labled as bad people who should be severly punished by society . It makes me feel good when everone who hates people who do smoke marijuana finally see why it should be legalized. Marijuana HAS NO NEGATIVE AFFECTS!! Its the only drug that I know of that has no bad effect on you. I know for a fact that this will pave the way for legalization and instant euphoria.
Speed my best friend was shot by a Mexican fellow, do I know slander all Mexicans, no. I lost my grandma in a car accident , the lady that killed her was yelling at her kids , should I blame all mothers or all kids speed. Sorry for your lose but your logic is poor
How sweet it is to see my beliefs verified, Speed, buddy, no one should drive impaired. whats your point..and buy the way your not befitting a best shot.. work harder at a better point. Good on you
So 72 years and the weight of the lie exceeds their payload. And they wonder why people don't believe them about vaccines .
Ok, I'm just as excited as anyone else about the AMA changing their stance on marijuanas medical benifits, but there is one thing that scares me about it.
What's to say they won't use this to their advantage to say, "oh yeah, it does have benifits. it should go to the doctors and pharmaseudical companies so now you'll have to go to the doctor and get a perscription and we can charge a lot of money for it."
We need to make sure this stays in the hands of the citizen, not the corporation.
After what seems like centuries, the AMA, bulwark of the medical establishment, has affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research.
The article's report concludes that, "short term controlled trials indicate smoked cannabis reduces pain, improves appetite, and may relieve spasticity and pain with multiple sclerosis." Furthermore, the report urges that "the Schedule I status of marijuana be reviewed, and alternate delivery methods explored."
Since rescheduling is the first priority, I suggest we schedule cannabis extracts, potent tinctures, and other state-of-the art delivery medicines in class 2, with morphine and other strong meds that need control. These extracts, tinctures, and isolates will be super-potent, so the possibility of abuse is there, although not as pronounced as addictives like morphine, oxycontin, etc.
Marijuana for smoking , if legalized and made available for adult use, should be in class 3. It would be rated by potency and 'tars', just like cigarettes . No flashy packaging, no aggressive marketing, no advertising. The bag comes with a warning about possible carcinogens and the dangers of smoking.
But the extracts and isolates are where the medical community would have its attention. Standardized and measured, with abundant supplies available for pain relief and other applications. Make a month's supply no more than $30. dollars - or else patients who know how to grow will just grow their own. Currently 'Marinol' sells for $300. dollars per month's supply. Insurance won't cover it unless you have cancer or AIDS . When 'Sativex' comes out in the USA in 2010, it will probably sell for several hundred dollars a bottle.
'Til that time, growing your own herbs, and smoking seedless female buds, are the cheapest ways to obtain your best quality medicine .
The attention of many world leaders is regularly drawn, in part by chance and in part by design, to celebrity news, aka zada news , and its surrounding back stories. This is why news of this type is sought after.