Resolution of the Virginia Nurses Association

 

Legalizing Marijuana for Medical Purposes

 

Submitted by: Council of District Presidents, Ethics Committee, and Committee on Preserving the Rights of HIV Infected Persons

 

Whereas Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, which means that it cannot be legally used as a medicine by patients or prescribed by physicians; and

Whereas Schedule I drugs must meet all of the following criteria: 1) have no therapeutic value, 2) are not safe for medical use, and 3) have a high abuse potential; and

Whereas Virginia nurses have an understanding a) of the negative health consequences that substance abuse and/or addiction can cause, b) that substance abuse and addiction are not about "bad" drugs, but rather about the unhealthy use of drugs, and c) that persons can develop a substance abuse or addiction problem from any psychoactive drugs, legal or illegal; and

Whereas Marijuana has been found to be effective in a) reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma, b) reducing nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, c) stimulating the appetite for patients living with AIDS and suffering from the wasting syndrome, d) controlling spasticity associated with spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, and e) controlling seizures associated with seizure disorders; and

Whereas Marijuana has a wide margin of safety for use under medical supervision and cannot cause lethal reactions; and

Whereas Thirty-six states, including Virginia, have recognized marijuana's therapeutic potential and have passed legislation supporting its medical use; and

Whereas The Drug Enforcement Agency's own Administrative Law Judge ruled in 1988 that marijuana must be removed from the Schedule I category and made available for physicians to prescribe; and

Whereas Desperate patients and/or their families have chosen to break the law to obtain this medicine when conventional medicines have not been effective or are too toxic. This places them at risk for criminal charges and at risk for obtaining contaminated medicines because of lack of quality control; and

Whereas Nurses have an ethical obligation to be advocates for health care for all individuals. Medicines which enhance the quality of life for persons suffering from life threatening or debilitating illness; therefore be it

Resolved That the Virginia Nurses Association support all reasonable efforts to end federal policies which prohibit or unnecessarily restrict marijuana's legal availability for legitimate medical uses; and be it

Resolved That the Virginia Nurses Association provide education to the nurses of Virginia on the therapeutic use of marijuana and the federal prohibition of its use; and be it

Resolved That the Virginia Nurses Association encourage other healthcare provider organizations to support medical access to marijuana; and be it

Resolved That the Virginia Nurses Association submit a resolution to the American Nurses Association House of Delegates in 1995 that ANA educate American nurses about the therapeutic use of marijuana and the federal prohibition of its use; and be it

Resolved That the Virginia Nurses Association submit a resolution to the American Nurses Association House of Delegates in 1995 that the ANA support a change in federal policy to permit medical access to marijuana for therapeutic purposes.

This resolution was passed by the Virginia Nurses Association Delegate Assembly on October 7,1994. The VNA followed this resolution with a position paper, "Therapeutic Use of Cannabis/Marijuana," in March of 1995.

Virginia Nurses Association

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