AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research

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> PRESS RELEASE
> Americans for Safe Access
> For Immediate Release: November 10, 2009
>
> AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further
> Research Largest and oldest U.S. physician-based group reverses
> long-held position on medical marijuana
>
> Houston, TX -- 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."
>
> Further information:
> Executive Summary of AMA Report:
> http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AMA_Report_Executive_Summa
> ry.pdf
> Recommendations of AMA Report:
> http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AMA_Report_Recommendations
> .pdf American College of Physicians resolution:
> http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarij
> uana.p
> df
>
> # # #
>
> With over 30,000 active members in more than 40 states, Americans for
> Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of
> patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens
> promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and
> research. ASA works to overcome political and legal barriers by
> creating policies that improve access to medical cannabis for patients
> and researchers through legislation, education, litigation, grassroots
> actions, advocacy and services for patients and the caregivers.
>
> --
> Kris Hermes
> Media Specialist
> Americans for Safe Access
> www.SafeAccessNow.org
> 1322 Webster Street, Suite 402
> Oakland, CA 94612
> Phone: 510-251-1856 x307
> Fax: 510-251-2036
> Email: kris@SafeAccessNow.org
>
> Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based
> organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and
> concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for
> therapeutic use and research.
>
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> Attachment: http://drugsense.org/temp/WnufXBStuokE.html
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