Doctors
Posted on February 15, 2008
The American College of Physicians, second in size to only the American Medical Association, called Thursday for the U.S. federal government to end its ban on marijuana as medicine and move forward with research into the drug’s therapeutic utilities. The 13-page position paper was approved by the college’s governing board of regents and posted on the group’s website. With 124,000 members, the group is the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine in the United States. The paper contends that acrimonious debate over marijuana legalization has obscured good science that demonstrates medicinal benefits of cannabis. “We felt the time had come to speak about this. We’d like to clear up the uncertainty and anxiety of patients and physicians over this drug,” Dr. David Dale, the group’s president, told the Los Angeles Times.
The report’s introduction states: “Marijuana has been smoked for its medicinal properties for centuries. Preclinical, clinical, and anecdotal reports suggest numerous potential medical uses for marijuana. Although the indications for some conditions have been well documented, less information is available about other potential medical uses. Additional research is needed to further clarify the therapeutic value of cannabinoids and determine optimal routes of administration. Unfortunately, research expansion has been hindered by a complicated federal approval process, limited availability of research-grade marijuana, and the debate over legalization. ACP believes the science on medical marijuana should not be obscured or hindered by the debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana for general use.” Read more
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