Lancashire, United Kingdom: Scientific and ethical considerations regarding the use of cannabis as a prescription medicine do not justify its prohibition, concludes a commentary published this month in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
“Medical facts are too vague to overturn [a patient’s] informed choice, concrete harm is not inflicted on innocent third parties, and considerations of … symbolic harm cannot outweigh the suffering that can probably be removed by the drug,” the commentary states.
The author further adds that “freedom, properly understood, provides a sound ethical reason to allow the use of cannabis in medicine.”
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Abstracts of the commentary are available online at:
http://www.jmedethics.com