NORML.ORG US MI: OPED: Doctors Demolish Myths on Medical Marijuana
In a just-released position paper, backed up with 10 pages of scientific documentation and references, ACP says the federal government is wrong to classify marijuana as unsuitable for medical use and urges an immediate review of its status, “given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana’s safety and efficacy in some clinical situations.” ACP specifically calls for “protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws,” such as the one Michigan will soon vote on.

ACP directly takes on the myths already being raised by opponents:

ACP cites studies showing that marijuana’s active components “may provide symptom relief not found in any other medication” for patients suffering from AIDS or undergoing cancer chemotherapy and experiencing severe pain, nausea and appetite loss.

ACP explains that a technology called vaporization removes the hazards of smoking while maintaining the benefits that patients prefer.

ACP notes that the THC pill called Marinol, touted as a substitute for marijuana, has “serious limitations” due to “slow absorption” and side effects that are “more severe.”

“Marijuana has not been shown to be the cause of even the most serious predictor of serious drug abuse,” the doctors write, adding pointedly, “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.”

This ACP recommendation is going to continue to help tear down the government’s lies about medical marijuana.  Michigan voters should also note that the federal government already believes in medical marijuana; it is still delivering federal joints to six remaining patients on the Investigative New Drugs program.

And why is it again that THC in pharmaceuticals such as Sativex and Marinol  are doctor-prescribed, Schedule III drugs, but the raw THC in the cannabis plant is a forbidden Schedule I drug with no medical efficacy?  Because without a bar code, marijuana is very dangerous… to pharmaceutical company profits.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 5:14 pm and is filed under 4:20 NewsHour, Medical Marijuana. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a trackback from your own site.