AMA Calls for Review of Medical Marijuana’s Legal Status

WOW! Massive, huge, monumental news!

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/11/10-1

New Policy Marks Historic Shift From Prior Stance

HOUSTON - November 10 - In a move considered historic by supporters of medical marijuana, the American Medical Association's House of Delegates today adopted a new policy position calling for the review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I drug in the federal Controlled Substances Act. The old language in Policy H-95.952 had previously recommended that "marijuana be retained in Schedule I," which groups marijuana with drugs such as heroin, LSD and PCP that are deemed to have no accepted medical uses and to be unsafe for use even under medical supervision.

The revised policy, adopted today, states, "Our AMA urges that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods." It goes on to explain that this position should not be construed as an endorsement of state medical marijuana programs.

"This shift, coming from what has historically been America's most cautious and conservative major medical organization, is historic," said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, who attended the AMA meeting. "Marijuana's Schedule I status is not just scientifically untenable, given the wealth of recent data showing it to be both safe and effective for chronic pain and other conditions, but it's been a major obstacle to needed research."

Drugs listed in Schedule II, for which medical use is permitted with strict controls, include cocaine, morphine and methamphetamine. A pill containing THC, the component responsible for marijuana's "high," is classed in Schedule III, whose looser requirements allow phoned-in prescriptions.

And another amazing article..

http://www.opposingviews.com/articl...s-marijuana-has-medical-benefits-r-1257871699

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."

You are witnessing the slow swirl of Prohibition as it circles around the porcelain bowl.

It will be a long time going down, but the flush has been inevitable for some time now. This is just further proof of what we all know is coming.

Btw: most of the Prohibitionists know it too. They are fighting with delay tactics now.

The removal of MJ from Schedule 1 is an inevitable event which will be made imperitive should California vote to legalize in 2010. Removing it as a Schedule 1 substance solves many political problems at the federal level, and that change is not subject to a vote in Congress. 41 Senators cannot oppose it to stop it. Because it is the path of least resistance, it is the one which will inevitably be taken.

The only question is when.

fatigues said:

The only question is when.

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I'm still sticking with my prediction of sometime in 2012.

Although after reading these articles and knowing that Senator Webb will use this information in his upcoming prison reform legislation, maybe it'll happen sooner. The AMA is really impressing me lately.

You are witnessing the slow swirl of Prohibition as it circles around the porcelain bowl.

It will be a long time going down, but the flush has been inevitable for some time now. This is just further proof of what we all know is coming.

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I do think we need to stand at the ready, plunger in hand, and keep a sharp eye to make sure the pipe doesn't clog and cause the bowl to overflow. But goddam if it doesn't seem like the metaphor quoted above is apropos, and in progress. 32 1/2 years I've been watching now, and it's never, ever felt so fucking close before. Well, maybe 1978 was similar, but then the NORML guys got caught tooting lines of coke-ain in the White House and the bowl overflowed.

was just reading it myself! Great post! and yep I am starting to see that same swirl and the flush isn't far behind!

The signs are good, the momentum is strong. Its hard to go back at this point. It WILL happen. But the pressure must be kept up on all fronts! Today is a day of buena vibra

So now they are not just liars, they are hippocrites too. Peace GS

fatigues said:

Btw: most of the Prohibitionists know it too. They are fighting with delay tactics now.

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They are fighting with delay tactics hoping someone on the legalization front will do something stupid akin to Pythagllio's point about the NORML folks toot-ing in the White House back in '78.

They're hoping for some smoking-gun that makes it acceptable to demonize it again and set us back another another 30+ years, or for an administration that's more amenable to rescinding the current Presidential order to recognizing states-rights allowances of MMJ, and re-take the prohibitionist mantle for the "War on Drugs".

Which is why we need to reach the tipping-point before 2012.

Pythagllio said:

I do think we need to stand at the ready, plunger in hand, and keep a sharp eye to make sure the pipe doesn't clog and cause the bowl to overflow.

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http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000233/"Well, let's not start sucking each other's dicks quite yet."

- The Wolf (Pulp Fiction)

Agreed.

The existence of Medical Marijuana is the direct result of the failure of modern medicine.

When you go to the Doctor in the U.S., they will kill you dead and be on the golf course by noon. Every other commercial on TV is whether or not you've taken one of these hundreds of deadly drugs approved by the FDA... like VIOX, Celebrex, and that skin balm that ended up causing brain cancer.

The only way to be safe is to treat yourself. Our hospitals are only good for trauma.

So the AMA has a lot of catching up to do. They have caused a lot of death and we should abolish them along with all corrupt government that considers the average human being to be expendable in the face of large profits.

Kola Radical said:

The only way to be safe is to treat yourself. Our hospitals are only good for trauma.

So the AMA has a lot of catching up to do. They have caused a lot of death and we should abolish them along with all corrupt government that considers the average human being to be expendable in the face of large profits.

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Check out the book "Natural Cures They don't Want You To Know". Very good reading. The FDA is a large part of the problem too. No drug companies want to research natural cures because they cannot patent them. Only synthetic laboratory manufactured substances can be patented. No patent no money. Not to mention that most medical schools pound it into their students that only drugs can cure people and that homeopathic doctors are con artists.

Today is a red letter day for our community! Time to celebrate

I read it a little differently than you guys and gals. It sounds like they want a Pill form of Cannabis. That would suck! No growing anymore, unless you work for Merck, or Pfizer..... It would be like if you were growing Opium, highly illegal.. Better to get caught with a couple illegal Vicodin than an Opium Poppy Garden. Hopefully, I am wrong.....

They already have a pill that is synthetic THC and its crap. I think the main thing here is that they are going in the direction of moving it to schedule II. That means the FDA may or may not approve several different forms for treatment. If the FDA approves anything that means insurance companies will shit their pants. It's a delicate battle on the FDA approval front. I'm sure drug companies and insurance companies will hate this. They will loose the most money. If it's moved to schedule II that also means that licenses will be granted to growers just like they are to pain killer companies.

Bud Spleefman said:

I read it a little differently than you guys and gals. It sounds like they want a Pill form of Cannabis. That would suck! No growing anymore, unless you work for Merck, or Pfizer..... It would be like if you were growing Opium, highly illegal.. Better to get caught with a couple illegal Vicodin than an Opium Poppy Garden. Hopefully, I am wrong.....

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That's how I read it, the pharma companies don't want to lose out on the profits being garnered in the MMJ industry, and they sure as hell don't want governments to start taxing medicine, as has been mentioned with regard to MMJ, which could open the door to taxing other forms of medication.

Hopefully it is the first step towards legitimizing the MMJ movement at the federal level, but for some reason I cannot bring myself to trust the corporate/congressional complex.

I know nothing of the AMA and their allegiance to pharmaceuticals. Does anyone know about this? Some are saying they might be pushing this to let the big pharmas get in on the MMJ action. Which may be true, but...

The difference with cannabis is that it is a lot easier for us to grow our own for personal use than it is with other Pharma-produced narcotics. If cannabis is re-scheduled from I to II, that's good for us EVEN IF the Pharmas want to jump in on the action with pills and lab-grown forms of THC. I'll take a soil-grown, government distributed plant any day over a pill produced by the drug companies. And I think they'd have a terrible time trying to control this or split the two forms into different laws or regulations.

Could those of you suspicious of the AMA's intentions here explain a bit more?

peace

Well I for one am curious as to how they could have kept their blinders on this long? Peace GS

sac beh said:

If cannabis is re-scheduled from I to II, that's good for us EVEN IF the Pharmas want to jump in on the action with pills and lab-grown forms of THC.

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I agree. If someone can come up with a pill that is equally or more effective than the natural herb, what's the problem? If you are using it medicinally, why would you care what form your medicine is in? As long as it works and you can afford to buy it (a big if). And if a manufactured cannabis-based medicine is legal, it would follow that the natural herb be legal too. How can a drug be illegal in one form and legal in another? Maybe not.

Regardless of the possible implications, this is a BIG DEAL. The AMA is the only major medical group that had not jumped on the mmj bandwagon. They were the only ones left that the government could quote when it comes to the medical profession's view on mmj. There is now no longer any medical group the government can point to to support their position that mmj is not recognized as medicine. One less leg for the feds to stand on to support their prohibition.

Marijuana is an herb. Not a drug.

If scheduling is considered, then the proper schedule should be no more than schedule 5.

It's over .. it's time for mop up now.

The snowball is rolling at this point, and it's got green rolled up inside.