The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently endorsed medical marijuana with its position paper, "Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana." The ACP is the nation's largest organization of doctors of internal medicine, with 124,000 members.

The report is available on the ACP web site at: http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf

 

The ACP called on the federal government to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance into a more appropriate schedule, given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana’s safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions.  Currently, marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it has no medicinal value and is not available for physicians to prescribe.  Federal reclassification of marijuana would make marijuana available in pharmacies nationwide, by prescription.
 
ACP also strongly urged protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws.  The ACP noted that 12 states currently have legislation permitting its use for medicinal purposes.  While similar legislation is pending in New York, New Jersey and a number of other states, there are still 38 states that arrest and prosecute individuals for any use of marijuana, including medical use.  The federal government does not recognize medical marijuana at all, and continues to prosecute patients and caregivers for any use of marijuana, no matter what state they live in. 

 

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) applauds the ACP for its support of medical marijuana.  CMMNJ believes it is irresponsible for physicians not to support immediate safe and legal access to marijuana. Thousands of physicians are recommending marijuana for their patients and these patients face the risk of arrest and imprisonment simply for following the advice of these physicians.  If physicians do not actively oppose the laws against medical marijuana, they are complicit in enforcing the laws against the very patients for whom they are recommending this substance.   It is a serious lapse of ethical judgement for physicians to expose their patients to needless legal risks and do nothing about it.

 

CMMNJ calls on the American Medical Association (AMA), the largest medical society in the U.S., to follow the lead of the ACP on this issue. The AMA, at its 2001 Annual Meeting, called only for “further studies” of medical marijuana and recommended that marijuana be retained in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act pending the outcome of such studies. ( http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13625.html ) This is a disservice to the over 100,000 patients in the U.S. who are currently using marijuana with the advice and approval of their physicians. 

 

CMMNJ wonders what the AMA would consider acceptable proof of marijuana’s safety and efficacy?  What Holy Grail of scientific evidence does the AMA seek? 

 

Is the AMA aware that:
 double-blind, placebo controlled studies—the “gold standard” of medical research--have already demonstrated the benefits of marijuana therapy to patients? (http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/01/opinion/edgrinspoon.php ) 
 over 140 recent studies show the remarkable versatility of marijuana for a wide range of medical conditions? www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7002.  
 the federal government has systematically blocked research into the benefits of medical marijuana for many years, prompting even the Institute of Medicine to complain that researchers faced “a daunting thicket of regulations” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)? http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed/ch4.html
 on February 12, 2007 a DEA Administrative Law Judge ruled that the University of Massachusetts at Amherst should be allowed to grow its own supply of marijuana to be used in clinical trials because the government’s supply is “inadequate,” but the DEA is still appealing this ruling? http://www.maps.org/mmj/DEAlawsuit.html#ondcp
 once these clinical studies finally get done, the results are an embarrassment to the ideological positions of the FDA and the DEA?  For example, the latest clinical study of smoked marijuana was done by Columbia University and it compared Marinol with smoked marijuana. This study proved that a high dosage of Marinol, the FDA approved drug, was nearly as effective as a low dose of smoked marijuana, a drug the FDA and DEA says has no recognized medical uses in the United States.  It is no wonder that the DEA has repressed the clinical studies of smoked marijuana for so long.   See: (http://www.jaids.com/pt/re/jaids/abstract.00126334-200708150-00009.htm;jsessionid=H1gGxXvR26sGhJsQNwQy97pC9synhg1PK5P042GvtydbGFGKyBs8!-1888235131!181195628!8091!-1)

 

Respected colleagues of the AMA that support immediate access to medical marijuana include, in addition to the ACP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association.  Marijuana therapy has already progressed beyond “anecdotal evidence.”  It has become accepted medical practice.  No patient should suffer needlessly and no patient should face arrest and imprisonment for following the advice of a physician.