http://www.naturalnews.com/023172.html May 06,2008 (NaturalNews) Transcending political controversy and stigma surrounding the subject, the second largest physician group in the country has endorsed the use, reclassification, and further study of medicinal marijuana. In a position paper issued February 14th, the American College of Physicians (ACP) makes the case that the red tape surrounding the medical use of cannabis is obscuring good science and stifling research. Several states including California have opened the door for legal use of medical marijuana, but this stands in opposition to the federal government’s Schedule I classification of the plant. This discontinuity has led to legal obfuscation and obscurity as to what is actually legal. Schedule I is a term used to describe drugs such as LSD and heroin, and translates to a substance having “no accepted medical use and being unsafe for use even under medical supervision.” With their newly defined position, ACP now joins the ranks of dozens of other national medical groups urging an ease on cannabis regulation in the face of what many consider overwhelming scientific evidence of its medicinal usefulness. “ACP urges review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance and reclassification into a more appropriate schedule, given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana’s safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions,” the paper states. Supporters hope that this will be the long-awaited nudge needed to tip the American Medical Association (AMA) in favor of reclassification and legal protection for medical use of the drug. The AMA urges further research, but so far it does not support reclassification of the Schedule I substance. To date, the most serious argument for potential damage done by cannabis is harm to the lungs caused by smoking. The paper notes that this problem has already been overcome by a technology known as vaporization, in which the active constituents are efficiently released into the lungs without burning the plant. Another myth dispelled by the paper is that marijuana acts as a 'gateway drug,' leading to the use of more harmful substances. "Marijuana has not been proven to be the cause or even the most significant predictor of serious drug abuse. Opiates are highly addictive, yet medically effective ... There is no evidence to suggest that medical use of opiates has increased perception that their illicit use is safe or acceptable," the group states. The paper also cites significant evidence that cannabis relieves the nausea, vomiting and wasting that accompany cancer, AIDS and other diseases, while lessening the pain associated with multiple sclerosis and many other conditions. Calling for further research, ACP points out that the period of validation has passed in more heavily researched areas. In these cases, the group makes clear their position that the time has come to roll out trials designed to determine proper dosage and method of delivery -- a step currently being stonewalled by the drug’s legal classification. The position paper can be found in pdf format at (http://www.acponline.org/acp_news/medmarinews.htm) .
College Physicians Argue for Legalization of MMJ March 07, 2008 Physician Group Urges Research On Marijuana February 26, 2008 Doctors Demolish Myths on Medical Marijuana February 23, 2008 Doctors Group Backs Marijuana for Medical Uses February 15, 2008 Physicians Group Urges Easing of Ban on Marijuana February 14, 2008 APA Awards Unanimous Support for Medical Marijuana November 08, 2007 American Nurses Association Endorses Access to Medical Marijuana 7/3/03 American Psychiatric Association Assembly Unanimously Backs Medical Marijuana Nov-07-2007 Health Organizations Supporting Immediate Legal Access to Medical Marijuana AIDS Action Council November 15, 1996 AIDS Treatment News January 23, 1998 Alaska Nurses Association September 1998 American Academy of Family Physicians 1996-1997 American Medical Student Association March 1993 American Academy of Family Physicians 1996-1997 American Nurses Association June 2003 American Preventive Medical Association December 8, 1997 American Public Health Association November 1995 American Society of Addiction Medicine April 16, 1997 Arthritis Research Campaign (United Kingdom) October 23, 2001 Australian Medical Association (NSW) Limited September 30, 1999 Australian National Task Force on Cannabis March 1994 The FDA should change its name to the Politically Approved Food and Drug Administration - PAFDA. It's a longer acronym, but it rolls off the tongue nicely and people would appreciate its greater honesty. The agency's other option is to stop embarrassing its dedicated doctors and scientists with utterly unscientific announcements such as the recent bulletin that smoked marijuana has no medicinal value. -- A Register-Guard Editorial May 01, 2006 Oregon Being Alive January 3, 1996 Belgian Ministry of Health September 4, 2003. British House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology November 11, 1998. British House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology (Second Report) March 14, 2001. British Medical Association November 1997 California Academy of Family Physicians February 1994 California Nurses Association September 21, 1995 California Pharmacists Association May 26, 1997 Canadian AIDS Society (Societe canadienne du sida) May 20, 2004 Canadian Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs September 2002 Colorado Nurses Association 1995 Connecticut Nurses Association October 2004 Dean Edell, M.D. March 2, 2000 Federation of American Scientists November 1994 Florida Governor's Red Ribbon Panel on AIDS January 1993 Florida Medical Association June 1997 French Ministry of Health December 7, 1997 Hawaii Nurses Association October 21, 1999. Health Canada December 19, 1997 * The Canadian government legalized the use of medical marijuana on July 31, 2001. Illinois Nurses Association December 2004 Kaiser Permanente April 1997 Lymphoma Foundation of America January 20, 1997. Medical Society of the State of New York May 7, 2004 Mississippi Nurses Association October 27, 1995 The Montel Williams MS Foundation Multiple Sclerosis Society (Canada) July 2001. The Multiple Sclerosis Society (United Kingdom) August 2003 National Association for Public Health Policy November 15, 1998. National Nurses Society on Addictions May 1, 1995 Netherlands Ministry of Health* September 1, 2003. National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) 1999 * The Dutch government made marijuana available by prescription on September 1, 2003. New England Journal of Medicine January 30, 1997 New Jersey State Nurses Association March 25, 2002 New Mexico Medical Society January 21, 2002 New Mexico Nurses Association July 28, 1997 New South Wales (Australia) Parliamentary Working Party on the use of Cannabis for Medical Purposes 9: August 2000 New York County Medical Society February 23, 2004 New York State Nurses Association June 7, 1995 North Carolina Nurses Association October 15, 1996 Rhode Island Medical Society Reference: Steve DeTroy, Director of Government and Public Affairs Rhode Island State Nurses Association April 6, 2004 San Francisco Mayor's Summit on AIDS and HIV January 27, 1998 San Francisco Medical Society August 8, 1996 Virginia Nurses Association October7, 1994 Andrew Weil, M.D. July 1999. Vermont Medical Marijuana Study Committee December 2002 Whitman-Walker Clinic April 1998 Wisconsin Nurses Association October 29, 1999 Health Organizations Supporting Medical Marijuana Research American Cancer Society July 24, 1997 British Medical Journal April 4, 1998 California Medical Association April 1997 California Society on Addiction Medicine (CSAM) 1997 Congress of Nursing Practice May 31, 1996 Jamaican National Commission on Ganja August 7, 2001 Gay and Lesbian Medical Association May 1995 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana August 1997 Texas Medical Association April 29, 2004 Vermont Medical Society February 10, 2003 Wisconsin State Medical Society 2000-2001 The AMA recommend that adequate and well-controlled studies of smoked marijuana be conducted in patients who have serious conditions for which preclinical, anecdotal, or controlled evidence suggests possible efficacy in including AIDS wasting syndrome, sever acute or delayed emesis induced by chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, dystonia, and neuropathic pain. -- Reference: American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs Report #10: Medical Marijuana Greed Stands In The Way of Decriminalization The commission has come to the conclusion that the moderate use of hemp drugs is practically attended by no evil results at all. ... ...moderate use of hemp... appears to cause no appreciable physical injury of any kind,... no injurious effects on the mind... [and] no moral injury whatever. -- Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894 Government Shows No Compassion for Medical Pot Demonizing Religionists Clergy Speak Out Against 'The War on Drugs' Having reviewed all the material available to us we find ourselves in agreement with the conclusion reached by the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission appointed by the Government of India (1893-94) and the New York Mayor's Committee (1944 - LaGuardia) that the long-term consumption of cannabis in moderate doses has no harmful effects" "the long-asserted dangers of cannabis are exaggerated and that the related law is socially damaging, if not unworkable --1968 UK ROYAL COMMISSION, THE WOOTTON REPORT The Politics of Pot RxGanja quotes Government Suppresses Marijuana Research Clinton Plan Attacks Medical Marijuana Initiatives, Targets Doctors January 2, 1997 - Washington, DC, USA
