The American Medical Association (AMA) voted today to reverse its
long-held position that marijuana
<http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-the-us-legalize-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
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of marijuana and called for further research. The CSAPH report
concluded that, "short term controlled trials indicate that smoked
cannabis
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http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-medical-marijuana-be-federally-
legalized>
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 <http://www.opposingviews.com/tags/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
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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
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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
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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 <http://www.opposingviews.com/tags/doctors>
of internal medicine
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brands>
. 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
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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
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http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-undocumented-immigrants-be-
granted-us-citizenship>
."

Though the CSAPH report has not been officially released
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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
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justice>
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."

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/ama-ends-72-year-policy-says-marijuana-has-
medical-benefits