The Schedule I federal classification of cannabis — which states that, by law, the marijuana plant and its natural compounds have “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” — has long since passed the point of farcical. Nevertheless, defenders of the so-called “Schedule I lie” have possessed, for nearly 30 years, one prestigious ally that they could always rely on to endorse their absurd position: the American Medical Association.
Not anymore!
Today the AMA voted to reverse its longstanding endorsement of cannabis’ Schedule I prohibitive status. The vote took place during the organization’s annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates in Houston, Texas, and marks the first time that the AMA has revisited its position on cannabis in eight years.
As newly amended, the AMA’s official position (see specifically pages 12, 13, and 14) regarding the medical use of cannabis no longer “recommends that marijuana be retained in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.” Rather, the Association now resolves “that marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines.”
The AMA also today demolished long-held pot prohibitionist claim — frequently publicized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and others — that “no sound scientific studies have supported medical use of smoked marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data support the safety or efficacy of smoked marijuana for general medical use.” To the contrary, the AMA has adopted a report drafted by its Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, “Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes,” which states, “Results of 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.”
Now that the AMA has finally acknowledged reality, is anyone else wondering if David Evans (or the DEA) will finally update their talking points?
Its about time legit medical groups stood up for science instead of saying what the policiticans want them to say.
This is great news. Now we just have to see if a rescheduling takes place.
We Need Weed IN GEORGIA!!!! HELP!!!!
They seem to be using specific language that states they wish it to be reviewed for research and possible development, not removal based on established research.
I’m sure they are influenced by research from abroad here of course. I just dont trust the legal banter they chose in this instance to call it a complete reversal in support of Schedule I.
Though this is good news indeed if the collective of the AMA sees profit in cannabis potential. They have a track record of restricting the number of doctors admitted to medical schools each etc in hopes of maintaining scarcity to drive up profit.
Of course the hardcore skeptic in me thinks they want to “study it” in hopes of simply creating a new bunch of synthetics as the drug industry is running dry on their R&D efforts over the last decade.
Like everyone though, any movement from Schedule I is a welcomed blessing and I surely hope that this ripples up the food chain as a stark warning that the war is lost. The AMA was definitely one of the strongest nails in the coffin. To see it even weaken, if not fail is wonderful news.
THIS IS AMAZING!!!! The only thing that the political phonies have been able to fall back on is that the AMA “technically” did not say it was medically useful. Does this mean medical use will become federally regulated??
And the dominoes begin to fall…
I for one am ecstatic.
That is nice!
This can only bode well. Re-classification into a lower schedule would effectively nullify the Supreme Court precedent that says people charged with federal marijuana crimes cannot raise a medical defense because Congress declared (by putting cannabis in schedule 1) cannabis has no medical benefit. Imagine trying to defend a client and the client is barred from saying why they did whatever it is they were charged with and further, said activity was fully in compliance with State law in the jurisdiction they lived in.
This would be huge for state’s rights advocates and the spread of medical cannabis to new states if Congress got off their corrupt fat asses and rescheduled this plant already!!!
finally getting somewhere here to get this nation back on a common sense track.
bout frickin time. one very important observation that I want to point out is that the AMA used the proper term cannabis. marijuana is not an english word and was adopted to confuse congress. I’m so glad to see the AMA using the term cannabis. I tip my hat to the AMA for their recommendation.
I really don’t wanna get too excited, but this really is amazingly good news. Keep up the good work norml. I have hopes that it will be legalized federally in like 4 years at least. Or i hope so anyways.
Im loving these news. The dominoes keep falling!
Let the wall come down NORML! Can we get congress to act? I hope soon so I am no longer considered a criminal in my country!!!!!
[Paul Armentano responds: Congress has several marijuana law reform bills before them. Urge your members of Congress to support these efforts here: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/.%5D
finally! I’m hoping with all this publicity for marijuana, the government will just go ahead and legalize it..theres no point to it anymore..there never was and this country needs wake up and smell the ganja
This is just one of the many recent key decisions we have seen (surely many more to follow) in “the movement”. With further medical evidence ahead, even some ultra-conservatives will be able to comprehend the basic truths of its efficacy.
Great news! I am so glad that people are finally starting to see the truth.
THIS IS SOME GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonderful
Thank you for the truth. (added by Mobile using Mippin)
Can someone please explain to me if this is actually good for the recreational user? For example: cocaine is schedule II yet the penalties are usually much worse. Can this happen if cannabis were rescheduled?
this is how it starts, once they reschedule cannabis things will start falling into place…
This is great news Normal, as the days go by i just might check the ol’ homepage of Normal an it will say Legalized: We Did It. I hope not too much longer
I MUST have a copy of the report! I need to read exactly what it says, because if it says anything close to what you are saying is says…, we have reached a tipping point.
Thank you NORML for having your finger on the pulse of marijuana law reform!
This is such a progrsseive step to take. Legalization is moving much faster than a lot of people realize! “Oh, the times they are a changin”
wow 🙂
That is news worth hearing!
That’s great that a major organization like the AMA is coming out on our side. I think it goes a long way making the government’s position on medical cannabis look illegitimate in the eyes of people who don’t hold our view on cannabis. Definitely a good thing.
FINALLY! a reputable large scale organization says that pot has medical use. it is about time AMA endorsed it.
this is a lot better than the “memo” obama sent stating that it was “unlikely to be a good use of resources to prosecute medical marijuana users.” which we all know was a load of crap.
we are making headway surrounding these prohibitionists… we are so close!
I’ll bet they’re either very angry or very sad in the offices of the DEA and the ONDCP. I wonder what difference this will actually make? I hope it makes a good one, but since the spokespeople for these two organizations are not given to debate, it’s doubtful that they will address this with whatever invitations they may or may not get for various Sunday talk shows, national news magazines, and the LA or New York Times, or the Washington Post. If this hits these papers or any of the Sunday news programs or is taken up by the 24-hour news channels, the formal end of Prohibition of pot may be sooner at an end than we think.
It will be a really funny watching politicians all across the country, considering what they’ve done in small towns and rural counties in California in the city councils and county commissions and sheriffs offices and DAs offices there, grapple with this issue, trying to keep control or keep the prohibition in place. But it will be like tomato plants at that point… there’ll be no getting over it.
If I were you, and I were in the police Academy or I were studying criminal justice with the I have been a police officer or DA, I suggest to you that you look now for other work, as there is about to be an enormous oversupply of police. If we are not to arrest three quarters of 1 million people each year for marijuana charges of various types, what will all the policeman do with their time? What about their overtime, something they will openly admit they depend upon to make the job worthwhile?
All I can say is that it couldn’t happen to a nicer group of people it…
Eric Johnson
When the walls fall about Canabiss as a medicine,the music they make are soothing to the ears. AMA has pushed the gate open a little further and the light at the end of the tunnel has gotten brighter and within reach. The fight to regulating Canabiss that has been fought has been long and not without casualities,as the prison overcrowding does show. Now with the taste of Victory so near,”Who among us can turn back the Victory that is ours”?
Eat facts! I wanna see ya go down a-holes! Thank You lets not lose hope we’re almost there. I am tired of drinking myself to sleep when there is a beneficial herb within my reach but I am not legally allowed to “possess it” what shit, because a few old paramilitary douches that somehow feel its wrong or one way or another are profiting from my pain.
I just Got hard!!!
As a Crohn’s disease sufferer living in a non-medical marijuana state, it gives me hope that progress is being made and that I will no longer be considered a “criminal” for treating my disease. I only hope that their wording does not exclude raw cannabis and that the AMA supports patients that choose to use it in its raw form until research provides more pharmaceutical forms. This is some great news I was not expecting to see today. Wow. Thank you to NORML for the work you are doing to shed the light of truth on cannabis.
#7 Brian: Count me as ecstatic, too.
#31 Eric: I hope that McCafferty and Walters are getting severe acid indigestion now. Fuck both of those lying punks
We need medical marijuana in Indiana, this state is a joke. Me and my brother went to court today with Steve Dillon on our side from NORML and the detectice that arrested us said that if we gave him more property that he would drop the charges to misd’s. Thats extortion, and it was happening in the courtroom! Hell, they got $70K in the property seizure…what more do they want!
That was McCaffery
I’m very happy upon reading this. The greatest thing about legalization will be no more wasted money on visine because of having to hide. OH my G!! =0 Maybe Visine knows that stoners won’t need to buy as much of their products if cannabis goes Legal on em’….so they are helping to lobby prohibition. O’ me…that’s a good one, Hahahaha!!! Ahaa, ya thought I was paranoid for a minute there…..didn’t ya.
what we are witnessing is the Medical Community finally in tune with the wishes of patients who are suffering and finding aid for their pain with Cannabis the amazing Medicine Plant. God Bless you AMA !!!
Mr. President, Please reschedule Marijuana.
GOD Bless YOU !!!!!
Great news!! Best thing I’ve heard in a while.
Prohibitionists always use the fact that the AMA and “no credible” medical group calls if useful. Of course, what they mean is no American group, and even then it’s not true.
Finally some sense. Ive always wondered how i can inadvertently make a comment on one of my many sites that is incorrect in some fact and within minutes 20 people have not only corrected me but also told me what a dumbass iam. With total and instant knowledge simply a google away its easy to disprove their tired old lies. A random curious person new to the pot world can hear a bullshit statement and instead of relying on the liars words they can look online and see the truth. Soon my brothers and sisters the inescapable truth WILL set us free! Im gona light one up after readin this whos with me?
I hope this event would be placed in our American History books for future generations. This would mean the end of the 72 year war on marijuana. Just like the end of the Soviet Union.
YOU GUYS HAVE GOOD NEWS..
YOU GUYS HAVE DESPENSARIES AND WELLNESS CENTRES..!! SOUNDS LIKE THE 21 ST CENTURY..
HERE WE STILL BLEED .. WE GIVE ALL OUR MONEY TO BUY A LITTLE PEACE OF GRASS FROM THE CRIMINALS DEALERS AND IT’S POISONOUS GURBABE.. A HOROR TASTE.. JUST LIKE IF YOU ARE SO HUNGRY AND THEY GIVE YOU FOOD, BUT MIXTED WITH ACID CLEANER..
ALL THESE PUNKS DEALERS, ALL THESE BASTARDS LIVE ALL THESE YEARS FROM OUR BLOOD, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE SATANIC LAWS TO GET THEIR POCKETS VERY FULL..
NOW THEY HEARD THAT AMERICA IS GETING FREED AND THEY LOST THEIR SLEEP..!! THEY TOTALLY PANIC..!! THEY ARE SO AFRAID THAT IF OUR GOVERMENT FOLLOWS THE AMERICAN (NORTH AND SOUTH) EXAMPLE THEY WILL LOSE THEIR VICTIMS AND CLIENTS THAT THEY ABUSE AND MILK LIKE COWS FOR YEARS AND THEY WILL HAVE TO WORK FOR THE FIRST TIME.. THESE DEALER PARASITES, THESE VAMPIRES NEVER EVER WORKED.. AND ALL THE MONEY THAT THEY GET WILL GO AT LAST SO CORRECTLY TO THE STARVING COUNTRIE’S CASHIERS.
THE GREEK NATIONAL REVOLUTION STARTED BY THREE MEN THAT THEY FORMED WHAT WE CALL THE UNION OF THE FRIENDS..
THE SITE OF THEIR FIRST MEETINGS IS WORSHIPED AND VISITED WITH LOVE AND RESPECT.
IN A SAME WAY THE FIRST CAFE OF NORML IN PORTLAND IS GOING TO BE THE SANGRI LA TO VISIT AND HONOR THE REVOLUTIONARY UNION OF THE FRIENDS OF NORML.. THE ARCHITECTS OF THE VICTORY TO WIN THE FREEDOM WE DESERVE.
I FOUND THE PLACE – DEKUM ST..IN THE GOOGLE SATELITE..!! I WISH I COULD BE THERE .. ONE DAY I WILL COME LIKE A PILGRIM TO DEKUM STR..!!!
A YOGI FROM ELLAS (GREECE)
You have to wonder if the drug companies are starting to look at cannabis as a new form of income if cannabis is rescheduled. Don’t you think Lilly went back into their history to see how profitable cannabis extract was for them when it was legal? You have to know that these greedy business types are ringing their hands with excitement thinking of new ways to make money. I think rescheduling is long over due. The best we can hope for is that new research will provide even greater use of this very important medicine.
Don’t know about AMA being a “Great” organization as they were full of crap for decades but I am glad to see them caving in.
Wholly Wow and kickassedness! This is a very important moment in our war on the war on marijuana. This government must be forced to read the reality of the matter.
Wow, I can’t even begin to express how surprised I am to be reading this.
Small steps, small victories!
does anyone else feel like this snowball gets bigger and bigger every day?
This brought me to tears. It’s finally happening.
In America ,you can abort your infant @ nine mos, but I cant grow a beautifull God given plant ? Where is the logic ? These laws are oppressive ! The ama is just blowing smoke so they can steel cannibus secrets & make big profits when they have some futuristic pill ! they are in cahoots w/big pharma & Big Gov ! I been researching cannibus for over fifty years , without any adverse side affects ,other than prohabition ! I personely dont take pharmacudicals because of the adverse side affects! Free the flower
There is NO HOPE for David Evans…
CAN I GET A “HALLELUIAH” BROTHER.
I’m no supporter of pharma (I used to work for PPD) and I hope the AMA isn’t in big pharma’s back pocket. But, this is good news. Surely there will be enough cannabis for everyone, even big pharma…
Hey Augusta, i’m right there with you. Georgia needs for weed to be legalized because it is wayyyy too conservative down here. As for this, I am quite happy and definitely more hopeful for a change!
Great news
The tide is definitely turning against this criminal policy of harassing the herb smokers. Beautiful!
I would be very skeptical of the AMA in this case. I do not believe they have the public’s best interests at heart, and will likely try to patent the cannabanoids so that we cannot grow cannabis for personal use. Watch them close, I do not think they are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. They are likely motivated by private interests, and money. Don’t let them trick you! Wait for a while to see what they do before saying that they are doing anything good.
It is absolutely of no consequence that the AMA suddenly decides that cannabis has medical applications. So do the opiates, that doesn’t mean that the Drug War no longer drives heroin profits for organized crime, nor does it mean that illegal opiate users are not victims of sadistic law enforcement. The only excitement this generates is the false notion that, somehow, “medical marijuana” is a step for decriminalization. It is not. Medically applied opiates do not command black market prices. “Medical marijuana” continues to command black market prices. Why? Because “medical marijuana” is nothing more than a license to get high. The consumers know it and, most certainly, the growers and distributors know it. Maybe cannabis does have medical applications, but let’s face it, most “medical marijuana” users use cannabis for recreational purposes and use some medical condition as a legal cover for protection from law enforcement.
Yes move it to schedule II so the drug companies can exploit the plant and create massive profits while we end consumers have no option for health care that is affordable! While the BIG banks RAPE the soul of this country and plead for bailouts with no sign of financial regulation in sight. YES big MR GOV Please keep arresting people for marijuana and please keep locking people in prisons for “marijuana”. That is where the tax dollars are best spent, we don’t need to invest in education or teachers, we need more police over education even though it only cost 25% less to educate students. Education is stupid and we should not educate anyone. Those inner city kids dont need education. They need more police and more prisons. We just need to build more prisons (sarcasm). THat is what the great USA is about. Where is the great part about these corrupt people supporting legalization. As far as i can tell people are still sitting in jail for marijuana offenses.
can someone, ANYONE tell these people that many like myself have used medical pot for years, and DONT SMOKE…vaporizing…period…no damage…and if they want to point to “smoking” as an issue, lets point to cigs, then lets go to alcohol…its so ridiculous…I dont drink or smoke, but I use cannabis…way more healthy than those that use the other 2.
…and one of their pillars of prohibition has fallen… It’s about time.
I view most, if not all, progress made in the MMJ movement with skepticism because it does not attack the root of the problem.
The Federal Controlled Substances Act is one of the most disastrous and ideologically flawed laws on the book. If it stands as is, we will continue to be stripped of our freedoms and privacy in the name of marijuana eradication. FINALLY it’s been attacked by some organization that matters. This is truly progress.
Has anyone else realized that along with many law enforcement officers, NORML will also be out of a job once pot is legal.. hence this is the beginning of the end of NORML. Goodbye NORML!!!
The decision to reschedule cannabis (I no longer use the “M” word, coined by William Randolph Hearst in the ’30s as part of his campaign to link the plant to the “undesirable” Mexicans) belongs to the DEA and/or the HHS. While the AMA is certainly a credible organization in the eyes of those two institutions, so are the dozens of organizations who have previously endorsed such rescheduling. And even though the AMA has that credibility, the vote to amend their policy on medical cannabis wasn’t even considered newsworthy to Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, or even such online news sources as Google or Yahoo!. My initial reaction was one of elation, but logic brought me back down to earth. Sure, it’s an outstanding achievement for the AMA to amend its policy, but does it change the big picture? Unlikely.
=-=-=-=-= ATTENTION Paul Armentano =-=-=-=-=
Maybe you could get a new e-mail template up on the site for us to be able to spam our elected officials with this news?
Thanks!
=D
(does anyone else feel like this snowball gets bigger and bigger every day?)
Yes.It will start an avalance soon. Cannabis will be legalized. Freedom is what is desired,but my friends, when cannabis is legalized,that will just be the start. TRUE FREEDOM begins when we force government to do as we wish…always. We cant stop just with cannabis. Our freedoms have been under assult for a very long time,this will just be the start. Our rights MUST be regained. Dont trade legal cannabis for chains. Dont capitulate where the government is concerned or we will wake and bake in chains.
Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have … The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
A little rebellion now and then…is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826), Letter to James Madison, 1787
We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826), letter to Samuel Kercheval, July 12, 1816
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Thomas_Jefferson
It’s about time some action along these lines are going to be taken…back in 84 I had the occassion to smoke marijuana around my g’mother and I wasn’t sure what her reaction was going to be…but when she did smell it, she said it smelled like some ‘medicine’ her grandfather used to use for asthma…she was about 11 at the time she said…this would have been in the early to mid 1920’s…back when marijuana and other narcotics were legal and readily available in many forms…THE BULLSHIT HAS TO STOP SOMETIME!!! Come on America…wake the fuck up and get real…
Puff…Puff…
It’s about time scientists started defending science!
This recommendation to study further is a shift in the right direction…still quite timid, given the abundance of studies already done. What exactly is the process for rescheduling cannabis? Can it be done by executive order? Does it require an act of congress or is it simply an administrative move that could be made right away? Which bureaucrat is in position to effect this change? We could put some pressure on the right people and prod them into action.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is big. I am really liking how fast progress is moving. We still have a long battle ahead but I think we might win someday. (added by Mobile using Mippin)
I have MS& I have used nothing but marijuana for the last decade. I just had a MRI, the first in a decade. I still have MS, and I still have leisions on my brain, but in a decade they have not grown and one of them has shrunk, “No medical bennifits” BULLSHIT.
Doctors better come around becuase their credibilty is on the line. ITS SIMPLE, JUST TELL THE TRUTH!
this is another step up for the canabis consumer. altho, a small one.seems their are many more we must work to set in place before we can see the light.the good part is, for those of us who really need the herbs awesome properties, will be the most benefit. for those of us who wish to use recreationally, their is more time and, more work. still, for all the people who beleive in cannabis…thank you all.
to 42
hey general, we are all with you but, for many, our employers are not….get a big ol huber for me my friend!
CNN just ran the news about AMA at 9:26 on the daily dose segment. (added by Mobile using Mippin)
i believe the iowa board of pharmacy will soon be voting on rescheduling marijuana. hope this helps
My Congressman in Fl already told me to go f*k myself with any marijuana reform stuff… So did the Governor and whoever director of Drug Control in the state of Florida. (and to think we have a bunch of Democrats in office…)
“It’s about time scientists started defending science!”
I have an idea… we should get all the scientists arguing against the religious ppl employed in supporting Cannabis, and we get all the scientists responsible for looking at Cannabis go argue with the religious people.
This would be a more fair playing field.
Well about damn time! Does this force the DEA to examine and reavaluate cannabis’ position on the CS list?
In the wake of the AMA position on medical marijuana,I am urging the “College des Medecins de la province de Quebec” to similarly adopt a position favorable to the medical marijuana.
Up until recently, the College has preferred not take position for lack of “medical evidence in the scientific literature”.
A well defined view and politics by the College would no doubts stimulate the medical marijuana movement in Quebec and permit to compassion centres to offer
a wider and more varied assortment of medical marijuana to the community. The Californian model
should be taken into account to shape a truly
“Quebec” approach to the issue of medical marijuana.
The doctors should be able to prescribe wihout fear of reprisal.
“but let’s face it, most “medical marijuana” users use cannabis for recreational purposes and use some medical condition as a legal cover for protection from law enforcement.”
That is a flat out lie… yet another stupid stereotype made by some knuckle-dragger designed to demonize the user.
#80, “flat out lie … designed to demonize the user”? How do you figure? Nobody faults people for trying to escape law enforcement by getting a “medical marijuana” license to get high, a permit from your well paid doctor. I don’t. But I don’t confuse this with progress towards Nationally Reforming Marijuana Laws either. As long as anyone is threatened by law enforcement for the simple possession of cannabis, then reforming marijuana laws has not occured. If you ask me, this should be a first priority and enthusiasm for anything else is a fatal distraction.
“Medical marijuana” just does more to put more money in the hands of organized crime. Dope dealers are the real knuckle draggers here who rob the users with their black market prices.
Im astonished/skeptical/a little proud that this has come out of TX, of all states…I live in San Antonio, and the general attitude toward cannabis is a hostile one…and just pure ignorance…If you use the word CANNABIS a majority of the people have no idea you’re talking about Marijuana…being hispanic, if I ever encounter another person of hispanic background that ignorantly advocates the current laws in place, and has that reefer madness mentality…I look at them in shame and see a “Tío Tom” who has no idea the reason this naturally occuring plant is illegal is because their great grandparents smoked it, and through that simple act the “Depressed” white men of the 1930’s found a way to demonize an entire race…and in turn, an entire workforce…It would be pure poetic justice for the Anti-Cannabis Laws to start here, and end here.
Paul, I’m afraid I disagree with you on the dope dealers being the real knuckle-dragging demons here. That would be our very own government. after all, the dealers wouldn’t be dealing if there wasn’t a market. It wouldn’t be a market for those on the black market if it were on the open market. Nope, the real demons here are both the corrupt politicians who pretend to not know of the benefits of marijuana, and the citizens who are foolish enough to think they care about our well-being and liberty.
Paul, (#81)
It is a stereotype. People who are against medical pot have their angles, and “people only smoke to get high” is one of them. Back in the day, Nixon claimed that “people don’t drink to get drunk, and people only smoke marijuana to get high.”
I am a medical user and the high is the side effect. I smoke to relax and relieve eye pressure (I am legally blind).
As someone with a background in psychology, (4 year degree), I consider pot to be a viable alternative to anti-anxiety meds. Some people prefer pot, some prefer Xanax. To each their own, and what matters is the quality of life and emotional well-being of the user.
I would say I’ve run across many people in my day who drink exclusively to get drunk.
We are probably in agreement that both substances should be legal for the purpose of relaxation.
I agree with you that drug dealers are a big problem, but prohibitionists are equally to blame. I, as a legit user, buy American! Please spare me that notion that medical pot helps drug dealers.
Whether it’s “perfect” or not, medical pot is part of the process to soften people’s views on cannabis. Prohibitionists REALLY did a number on people back in the day.
We are not at a point where outright legalization and taxation is even possible. There are too many socially retarded and greedy people in Congress blaming people like me for the world’s problems.
Mateo: Take the ball and run with it. The rest of the country got their own initiatives going and we look to any victory, any time, for further inspiration. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. With any luck, they will be high pressure sodium lights
“The White House drug czar’s office gave a muted response to the AMA’s recommendation, the LA Times reports, saying it would defer to “the FDA’s judgment that the raw marijuana plant–like raw carrots, potatoes, or cucumbers–cannot meet the standards for identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging and labeling required of medicine.”
For all you youngsters out there…
The AMA opposed criminalization of marijuana from the very start when the Harrison Act was passed,a spokesman for the AMA testified at the hearings to voice opposition.The congress not only passed the act over the AMA’s objections but actually lied and said it had the support of the AMA.
The AMA continued to support no criminal penalties for any marijuana use until it finally caved in to the reefer madness mentality of the Reagan administration and changed it’s opinion to oppose any marijuana use.
This is a welcome return to sanity and science based policy,although a review has already been done by DEA law Judge Francis Young in 1988,any new evidence will only strengthen the findings of that report.
Here is one statement from that review…
“Marijuana in it’s natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.By any measure of rational analysis,marijuana can be safely used under a supervised routine of medical care.”
-Judge Francis Young -DEA
The complete hearings can be found at Shafer Drug Library,search google for the site.
It’s really interesting that cocaine, opium and pcp are Schedule II drugs, while cannabis (having never killed anyone nor caused cancer or any other problems) is still at Schedule I. How moronic.
Also, did you know that in 1986 DRONABINOL PRODUCT (MARINOL) was moved from Schedule I to Schedule II? I didn’t know this before just now and find it appalling that the bastards will move a cannabis-based drug from I to II without moving cannabis itself as well. We all know why that is: pharmaceutical lobbyists.
The “DEA” is a sham. What the USA and world needs is a group that can manage drug information and education based on FACTS, not on how much money they can make by making certain drugs illegal.
First off I am VERY skeptical of the AMA. California recognized the medical potential of cannabis in 1996. Now, 13 years and 12 states later, the AMA changes their mind. Their stated goal is “to facilitate the research and development of cannabinoid based pharmaceuticals” I fear that IF the DEA reschedules cannabis it will come with stipulations (i.e. only the government can grow cannabis) and what happens once they have developed their cannabinoid drugs and are ready to sell them for $50/pill . . . the war on marijuana will be more fierce than ever. Thank you AMA for reversing your policy, I just hope this doesnt lead to a government takeover of the cannabis industry (they’ve already gotten more control over the banking, automobile, and health care industries, sometimes I feel like cannabis is the only thing we have left)
Of course people get permits from their doctors to purchase “medical marijuana” in order to protect their recreational use from law enforcement. Notice that no prescription is involved. You can buy as much as you want any time you want. Any of the other drugs that are mood or sense altering drugs that are available with a prescription only can also be used for recreational purposes and are. There is a black market for prescription drugs used for recreational purposes.
It doesn’t matter that there may be people who see some real medical benefit from using cannabis. Imagine that cannabis became a completely respected drug within the medical community. Then it becomes available by prescription and the black market for recreational use remains. Meanwhile, anyone who would charge black market prices for medicine, especially something that should be so easily available like the herbel remedy from cannabis, is a knuckle dragger and worse.
How do not at least some of us have a valid “Religio-Medical” defense if we choose to use Cannibus for our own medicine for whatever we BELIEVE it to be useful for, as given to us from ESTABLISHED RELIGOUS DOCUMENTS (i.e the TORAH AND THE BIBLE…GENESIS)???
Meaning I am a Christian,I have the right not to participate in Government programs I deem to violate my religous lifestyle as outlined by the Constitution (I.E. you can opt out your children out of public school for homeschool for religous purposes).Shouldn’t I have the right to choose my own GOD MADE medicine for my own person(NOT DISTRIBUTING or even SHARING to others)??As it is my Religious BELIEF that Cannibus DOES have at LEAST one medical benefit(calms my anxiety attacks), I should not be coerced through force to participate in the CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT and subsequent legislation as it pertains directly a GOD MADE PLANT (Not a man made derivative from a god made plant.) Because Even if ALL the studies in ALL the world infered ANY conclusions either For OR Against the “Actual Medical Value” of Cannibus it would be the Beliefs derived from man made STUDIES and NOT my RELIGOUS documents!!!Genesis 1.29: “God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours.”
Quite simply all the conclusions of these studies are based on a Logical Fallacy (post hoc, ergo propter hoc)Futhermore, all the tests and measurements would have only measured a previous event. Any future events of use CAN NOT be ABSOLUTELY PROVEN!!!To say one could do so would be to say one can prophess the future, or they would have to admitt that they are simply making a projection based off their OWN BELIEFs wich in turn are based on an outcome shown by a man made study.
As such shouldn’t those of us with supporting Established Religous Documentaion(Torah, or Bible) be Free from the persecution of the Controlled Substances Act when using Cannibus as Strickly as medicine by rights of Religous Freedom???
ps: Mr Armentano I would love to hear your thoughts on this….
It’s about time. They WILL try to BS their way out of it. This should be fun to watch. And by the way, Texas recently dealt me a raw deal so I hope A LOT of em end up on unemployment!
Just FYI, at this time, Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN has asked for opinions on the AMA’s recent change. I recommend everyone stop in for a quick comment in support!
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/11/the-changing-debate-over-medical-marijuana/
Thanks!
I WOULDN’T LIKE TO BE MISSUNDERSTOOD..
WHEN I SAY PUNKS POT DEALERS I MEAN THE ONES THAT SELL THE POISONED GRASS ..I DESCRIBE TO YOU OUR REALITY HERE. THEY HAVE ONE KIND OF POT FOR THEM AND TO ALL OF US THEY ONLY SELL THE DIRTY STUFF KNOWING WHAT THEY SELL.
AT THIS MOMENT EVERY SINGLE POT DEALER THAT I EVER MET SELLS DIRTY-CHEMICAL POT AND MIXTED.. (A BAG OF GURBAGE WITH 2- 3 PIECES OF A BETTER ONE KIND ON THE TOP).
A PERSON THAT WOULD GIVE ME SOME PURE HERB I WOULD NEVER BLAME HIM OR BE ANGRY WITH..I WOULD BE THANKFULL AND WISH HIM WELL.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT THERE IS SUCH A HUNT FOR HERB IN OUR COUNTRY THAT ONLY CRIMINAL GANGS HAVE IT ANYMORE.
AND THEY WILL ALWAYS CHEET YOU. AND AS YOUR NEIGBOR GANGS OF MEXICO MOSTLY DEAL CANNABIS THEM TOO THEY DEAL CANNABIS. THEY DAY WE REGULATE IT THEY VANISH.. (THEY WILL START LOOKING FOR A JOB)
We Need To Get Marijuana Legalized In Arkansas !!! Help!!!! xooxoxox
Arkansas Needs Weed !!
We need to get Medinical Marijuana legalized in Texas and Louisiana!
GOOD JOB NORML, AND GOOD JOB AMA!
let’s not get our hopes up, ladies and gentlemen. We are talking about one of the only drugs (they call it a drug, i call it a plant containing chemical compounds) yet they’ve declared it to be the most dangerous drug on earth up until now. the first plant to ever be made illegal, and millions of us incarcerated later, they still put listening devices on citizens, bug our phones, fill the sky with helicopter in search of it growing both in the wild and being cultivated, bust up families, and in some cases, even kill us to make sure we do as we’re told. we may get it we may not, but i have absolutely no faith in this country’s facist regime’s ability to face truth. they’ll most likely just ignore the AMA until people stop being afraid that voicing their opinions will land them under a police surveilance warrant. marijuana will go legal the day they realize, i mean–Truly come to understand, that weed is the one thing that can turn our nation from a country of pill-addicts and smack heads back into a nation of farmers and neighbors. but since i don’t believe in government-based miracles, i’ll believe it when i see it. i live in southwest va, they’ve cracked down on pot so bad that this little farm community has exploded into an epidemic of addicts buying pills from neighbors, highschool kids who steal them from their parents, and mostly (not to mention saddest of all) they buy them out of retirement complexes where the elderly supplement their lacking income by selling off their oxycotin, their pain pills, xanaxs, and anything else someone else might want to crush up and snort. prohibition doesn’t just turn us into criminals, sometimes it turns pot heads into desperate junkies. and we actually have to pay the government our hard earned cash to do something so monstorous.
http://www.change.org/ideas/116/view_action/legalize_marijuana
This is a petition…LETS KEEP THIS THING MOVING…
WHEN IT COMES TO MY PHYSICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH
“I do what my doctor tells me to do,” [not] some congressman, pharmabeast, or prohibitionist…and…
“my doctor says”…cannabis [has] medical utility, and [low or no] probobility of abuse. Neither is cannabis “addictive,” nor is it a “gateway drug,” and should [not] be a schedule I substance. If we rely on science for factual truth, over 17,000 studies refutes the outrageous claims government makes, as evidenced by two different studies commissioned by government
…both “endorsing” cannabis. The bottom line is…”I’m going to do what my doctor tells me to do!”
SO FAR…SO GOOD!
On the bright side, government [seems to be] keeping its word…and…I give credit where credit is due. I honor the American Policy, and its Federal Guidelines.
91 Matterofliberty
If what you have said is true, and only if you claim or declare yourself to be one, your are a Christian Genesist. The Genesist Faith is a Faith within any monotheistic religon. Now you can claim religious use. You might want to check out the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.
God Bless you,
Manford Mantis
Its finally happening….God bless you NORML
The AMA has brought Honor to the House of NORML.
I hope that all you lucky people with prescriptions get to enjoy this plant that grows from the earth. Meanwhile, I guess people like me will rot and die, because our lives were destroyed for growing a plant. And will continue another 70 years of money money money mentality. I mean really?? Come on look around everyone. Turn on a television will ya. Crime is spiraling out of control. And they keep adding more police but yet crime grows. I don`t want to wait till I`m 110 to enjoy the freedom of growing a plant and harvesting it in my backyard, which I pay taxes on to pay the wages of these hypocrites. This is no longer an issue of is marijuana safe or not. This is a public safety issue. And Hiring more cops to search for plants while real criminals run free and drunk in the streets won`t solve anything. So enjoy your medical marijuana B.S. for now. Enjoy knowing you are giving money to the enemy every time you legally get prescribed marijuana. But be forewarned, alcohol is traveling at light speed back to prohibition. And as long as I can`t grow a plant in my back yard I will make it my life’s ambition to keep the promise of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Enough is enough……………If marijuana is going to remain illegal, except for “medical” reasons….. alcohol should be illegal too, except for medical reasons. It is of course the #1 cause of death and injury of all children under age 18. Shouldn`t that be enough? Or should we let another generation of children get molested, beaten and ran over by drunks? What are we as Americans????? Sober-or-free no more hypocrites!!!!!
I hope that all you lucky people with prescriptions get to enjoy this plant that grows from the earth. Meanwhile, I guess people like me will rot and die, because our lives were destroyed for growing a plant. And will continue another 70 years of money money money mentality. I mean really?? Come on look around everyone. Turn on a television will ya. Crime is spiraling out of control. And they keep adding more police but yet crime grows. I don`t want to wait till I`m 110 to enjoy the freedom of growing a plant and harvesting it in my backyard, which I pay taxes on to pay the wages of these hypocrites. This is no longer an issue of is marijuana safe or not. This is a public safety issue. And Hiring more cops to search for plants while real criminals run free and drunk in the streets won`t solve anything. So enjoy your medical marijuana B.S. for now. Enjoy knowing you are giving money to the enemy every time you legally get prescribed marijuana. But be forewarned, alcohol is traveling at light speed back to prohibition. And as long as I can`t grow a plant in my back yard I will make it my life’s ambition to keep the promise of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Enough is enough……………If marijuana is going to remain illegal, except for “medical” reasons….. alcohol should be illegal too, except for medical reasons. It is of course the #1 cause of death and injury of all children under age 18. Shouldn`t that be enough? Or should we let another generation of children get molested, beaten and ran over by drunks? What are we as Americans????? Sober-or-free no more hypocrites!!!!!
MatterofLiberty comment #91 makes an excellent point. God gave believers all seed-bearing plants. This is, and always has been a crime by the government and it`s rich buddies……you know who you are alcohol producers, pharma , don`t forget the whole nylon rope conspiracy. And don`t be so quick to badmouth pot-dealers. They are no different than the evil liquid drug lords that sold alcohol before, during and after prohibition. Some of them put stupid things on the bottle like their 200+ year history.And how their great great great grandpa used to sell liquid-drugs to children too. Hypocrites are in control and as long as you throw money at them they will let you have your worthless prescriptions. Under the watchful eye of big pharma , of course. Its too late now. Too many lives destroyed. Too many victims of alcohol abuse. Too many drunk cops celebrating the destruction of someones family because they had 6 oz. of marijuana. I want to see the same punishment for drunks in possession of equal weight of liquid drugs. What bothers me most is that I can`t say the name of these liquid drug dealers. For some reason they can sue you for slander. But I saw a commercial on television that states that more kids under 18 are injured or killed by alcohol than any other reason. They showed cans of beer. The most popular beer in America………I smiled, now that`s progress.
Even a cynic like myself who tends to believe that all government policy is run by the highest bidder is starting to have doubts about the continuation of prohibition. Without changing this bitter view, the case to end prohibition is starting to transcend the morality and common sense which have always been embedded into the argument, and has been backed for a while now by the almighty dollar. The profits made by pharmaceutical companies and private prisons is simply no match for the profits which stand to be made from the legalization of cannabis sativa, and much more importantly industrial hemp (which never should have been integrated into this issue). A bird in the hand has been worth two in the bush up until now, but the failing economy shows us that the bird in the hand is on life support while the hand is withering, and that the two in the bush have multiplied. Not so tunnel-visioned as to pray for a continued recession, still, the longer this floudering economy is starved for a new industry the more non-users will see just how much prohibition hurts them as well.
Let’s be clear – the AMA certainly did not reverse itself. They simply indicated that a review of the current Schedule be accomplished such that adequate research can be conducted. State legislation has moved at a pace that is far ahead of where medical research is; the AMA’s report quite clearly demonstrates that there is no acceptable evidence for use of marijuana for medical purposes. However, given the state of changing laws across the country, it is reasonable to conduct appropriate research. It’s not that the AMA sees profit in this; it’s that the AMA believes the research will demonstrate that smoked marijuana does not belong in the medical category. It’s a drug of abuse, nothing more. That said, there may be COMPONENTS of the plant marijuana which are of potential medical value. And that’s another area where research will show truth versus hype.
IT’S NOT FOR ME TO SAY…BUT…I’LL SAY IT ANYWAY.
“NOW IS THE TIME!!! FOR SURE!!! NOW IS THE TIME!!!”
Everyone has been chompin” at the bit, wantin’ to know if it’s time to raise our glasses, and draw our swords.
WELL!!! “NOW IS THE TIME” to raise our glasses. Our imaginary glasses have been raised for some time. Now we must lay our imaginary swords on the flag we are about to raise, proudly wave, and salute.
1 to 3
SHIT
OR GET OFF
THE POT
We must all be on the same page, with total concentration on the prize. We must spread the word. We, each and every one of us, must give a voice to our rights. The audiance will not be silenced any longer. We speak as one, and applaud our actions, and the results of our actions.
yea, ill just be willin to bet that our government has advised the ama to start testing so they can make their plan in case of a possible legalization move. this way the feds are one step ahead and , can modify the herb they will be in control of…..i dont trust any of them….
Most people still don’t give a rat’s ass what the AMA’s policy is and are going to grow, sell and consume cannabis regardless. They’ve known for decades about the lies, and only now have made the decision to turn around and get in front of the American people to give the impression that they are the leaders. It’s their sluggishness that has put profit over people and allowed other industrialized countries to have better health care systems and better harm reduction policies than the U.S. For example, I have at early age of 49 prostate cancer (it runs in my family) and can NOT get the drug to kill it from my doctor in the U.S. (much like cannabis) and I can NOT get minimally invasive high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the U.S. and my health insurance won’t pay for it because the FDA doesn’t have a medical code for them in the U.S. so they simply DO NOT exist in their little world. However, in the REAL WORLD these things DO exist, and they ARE EFFECTIVE and PROVEN SUCCESSFUL in other countries. It’s just that my doctor also won’t get an INCENTIVE of $100 or the going rate for every 6 prescriptions or so he write for recommending cannabis or some other drug that I would have to travel to Europe to get. The specialist can’t make any money off me by performing unnecessary surgery if he refers me to a hospital in Europe for the HIFU that is APPROVED there but not in the U.S. because the company that makes the robotic surgery machines has successfully lobbied against HIFU and gotten the government to give them market. HIFU can be used for breast cancer and many other kinds of cancer instead of surgery, as can effective anti-cancer drugs you can’t get in the U.S. and cannabis helps with the side effects of an array of things to alleviate things for people with cancer.
Prohibitionists suck! They are all in the pocket of big pharma and the medical industry lobbyists. Whores of Babylon, all of them!
All i can say is, it is about time this goverment is told that medical cannabis, can work better than perscriptions. If the A.M.A. has gotten their heads out of the sand sooner.This will be the best thing that can happen is this U.S.To many people being put in jail over a plant. Sad
Although this is good news,don’t plant your garden yet.
Every study done by doctors and researchers appointed by congress since 1972 has recommended the same thing and the 1972 study recommended decriminalization. And our legislators have ignored every one.
Maybe,if the regime in power follows it’s own words and lets science decide,we will see marijuana removed from schedule 1. I’ll bet the lobby monies from the banking industry and the pharmaceutical industry are breaking all previous records. And then we have to contend with the largest bureaucratic empire in our government who relies on marijuana remaining illegal
to justify over 1/2 their 40 billion dollar budget,so we are fighting an uphill battle and there is nothing new about that.
When only 1 state remains where pot is illegal,the ONDCP will still be spreading his propaganda and making up more lies for us to laugh at.
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=H04 is where you can follow the money being paid too your legislators too keep marijuana illegal and to support our capitalist industrial run government.
Why use a harmless plant to treat pain when you can spend $1000’s of dollars to treat pain with pills?!?!? Why use any common sense at all?! We don’t need that! Common sense is bad!
/sarcasm
Question is, who’s lying to us now? The AMAand APA or the Politicians and LEOS? My bet is it’s the latter.
posting one two posting one two
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ get it. NarcoPhama refining billions of dollars worth of Bagdad Opium. Too much competition by Cannabis.
Take nyquil feel better fast they lie.
I love the DATE of the report. When did the prohibitionists lose a major supporter and the countdown to legalization begin? 11-10-9
Great news. Whether the AMA seeks to verify other countries research or simply looking at the reality that cannabis does have a worthwile purpose, it’s still great to see the most prestigous American medical body reverse its stand on the Schedule I assignment of cannabis. Also,I love the DATE of the report. When did the prohibitionists lose a major supporter and the countdown to legalization begin? 11-10-9
Smoking Smoking Smoking. When will the government and AMA realize that SMOKING is not the most healthy way to inhale cannabis. Yes, this is talked about, but the reports still mention SMOKING and no other alternatives…
I am so thankful you post so much information and have that I may have missed. I love to pass the information along. As I have a family member in law enforcement medical marijuana is a sore subject to most in that field. BUT finally more and more are going vocal with the benefits. I now I have and really don’t care if anyone agrees with me or not. JUST OPEN YOUR MIND. Most of us know unless your in someone shoes with a illness you have no idea what they go through.
Yay Drew! It is so simple to fix, you’d think it would be on everyone’s lips. Just simplify the federal definition of marijuana.
“The term ‘marijuana’ means all parts
of the smoke produced by the combustion
of the plant Cannabis sativa L.”
With this simple definition, marijuana remains illegal, cannabis remains in the Schedule, but can be regulated by the States, and finally the substance to be controlled gets a clear definition. Also, now that we know it is the smoke, we can soon have the smoke re-scheduled.
Awsome news. Lets just hope it doesn’t take the AMA years to “test and evaluate” the medicinal uses of Marijuana.
I could have used it 10 years ago while going through chemo. But all the hard work is finally paying off for so many. THINK POSITIVE
Namaste
the use of weed would give back to our economy! it would be putting less people in jail.!( which is where our taxes go for their room && board!) Plus If they would put a tax on it that would also be giving back to our economy My mother could have used it when she was taking chemo.