Pot reform reaches new high

Category: Health

With health care reform up in the air, what does seem to be garnering support is the legalization of medical marijuana for use by those with chronic and terminal diseases. This month alone, New Jersey became the 14th state to allow medical marijuana use while the California Supreme Court removed limits on medical marijuana possession.

Indeed, these legal actions came on the heels of an ABC News/Washington Post poll from Jan. 18 that showed 81 percent of respondents support the idea of legalizing medical marijuana, up from a sizable 69 percent in 1997. Further, 56 percent said that if allowed, doctors should be able to prescribe medical marijuana to anyone they think it can help.

For most of the country, and the federal government, marijuana is considered a Schedule I drug alongside substances such as heroin, PCP, and LSD. Schedule I drugs are among the most restrictive as they have a high potential for abuse and no medical applications. The classification means that medical marijuana is illegal under federal law, but in October the Obama administration set forth a new policy calling on federal officials to not prosecute medical marijuana users who comply with state laws.

This move was probably not too shocking, coming from the administration of a man who admitted to smoking marijuana as a teenager. What is shocking is that less than one month later, the American Medical Association called for the review of the classification of the drug as unsafe and medically unpractical. In its statement, the association, which represents 250,000 physicians, urged the federal government to reevaluate the substance for medical purposes by conducting further clinical research. The association also stressed the new policy should not be read as promoting the legalization of marijuana, the medicinal use of marijuana or the implementation of “state-based medical cannabis programs.”

“Despite more than 30 years of clinical research, only a small number of randomized, controlled trials have been conducted on smoked cannabis,” Dr. Edward Langston, an AMA board member, said in a statement. He further noted that the limited number of studies was  “insufficient to satisfy the current standards for a prescription drug products.”

While proponents of medical marijuana use welcome the AMA’s support, many point to the fact that since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, dozens of studies have been published preaching its benefits for some patients.

“The AMA always takes the position that there needs to be more research,” said Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “We know more about marijuana than the foods we eat, than prescription drugs.

“It’s a continuation of cultural battles that go back many, many decades in this country,” Armentano continued. “When marijuana prohibition initially began, the initiatives for it [were] clearly based on racial bias. That racial bias has been replaced with a cultural or stereotypical bias [rather than science], which maintains the continuation of prohibition today.”

In states allowing marijuana for medicinal purposes, the laws clearly state that not just anyone having a bad day qualifies to use the drug. Typically, users must be suffering from cancer, glaucoma, positive HIV/AIDS status and chronic, debilitating diseases or medical conditions that result in wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms.

But the future seems bright for proponents of legalized marijuana, and not just for medicinal purposes. A Gallup poll conducted in October showed an 8 percent increase in support of the legalization of marijuana from 2005 to 2009. Trends suggest that the escalating endorsements originate from women, 18-49 year olds, Democrats, liberals and moderates.

To date, about two dozen states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, are introducing or considering legislation ranging from allowing medical marijuana use to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the herb.

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