cannabisnews.com: U.S. Stonehearted on Medical Pot





U.S. Stonehearted on Medical Pot
Posted by CN Staff on October 17, 2003 at 19:45:50 PT
By DI Editorial Board
Source: Daily Iowan
As nations such as Canada edge closer to decriminalizing marijuana possession, it seems archaic that the Bush administration would try to prevent doctors from recommending it to some of their patients or even talking about its potential medicinal benefits.It's hard to ignore evidence of the drug's healing abilities. There are many advocacy groups supporting marijuana's medical effectiveness, and, conversely, there are groups who say pot has no rehabilitative effects.
However, for the Bush administration to push for legislation requiring doctors be investigated and punished by federal regulators for recommending marijuana to their patients is akin to Galileo's ex-communicating for saying the Earth revolved around the sun.Thankfully, the legal system recognized the dangers presented by the Office of National Drug Control Policy's plan and issued a ruling that protects the doctors.On Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. In October 2002, the Bush administration had appealed the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the federal policy violated the free-speech rights of doctors and the "principles of federalism."Of the nine states in the 9th Circuit, seven - Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, in addition to California - authorize the medical use of marijuana. While states have authority to issue licenses to practice medicine, the Drug Enforcement Administration issues licenses to doctors to prescribe drugs that they need. Though doctors can be punished if they help patients obtain the drug, they are now free to discuss the subject.The government's threats against doctors who prescribe marijuana did not begin during Bush's presidency. In 1996, immediately after California voters approved a medical-marijuana initiative known as the Compassionate Use Act, the Clinton administration warned doctors that recommending marijuana "will lead to administrative action by the DEA to revoke the practitioner's registration." A 1999 report conducted by the Institute of Medicine presented scientific evidence confirming that marijuana had therapeutic value for patients with certain conditions. The institute is a nonprofit organization that was commissioned by the White House to perform a "comprehensive review" of marijuana's medical benefits and health effects."For patients who do not respond well to other medications, short-term marijuana use appears to be suitable for treating conditions like chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting or the wasting caused by AIDS," said the co-principal investigator John Benson, the dean of the Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine, in an institute news release.Bush administration officials may have moral reasons for believing marijuana's medical use is problematic. However, they should leave it to the doctors to decide what's good for ailing patients.Source: Daily Iowan, The (IA Edu)Published: October 17, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Daily IowanContact: daily-iowan uiowa.eduWebsite: http://www.dailyiowan.com/Walters vs. Conant No. 03-40 - PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/walters.pdfCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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