Pubdate: Mon, 17 Oct 2011
Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)
Copyright: 2011 Record Searchlight
Contact:  http://www.redding.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/360
Author: Ryan Sabalow
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDS LEGALIZING POT

Prohibition Called 'Failed Public Policy'

Calling prohibition of marijuana "a failed public health policy," the 
state's largest doctors group says the federal government should 
legalize the drug so it can be studied, taxed and regulated.

The California Medical Association adopted the official policy this 
weekend at its annual conference.

The doctors' association, representing 35,000 physicians, is the 
first medical group to take such a stance.

It "won't be the last," CMA President-Elect Dr. James T. Hay said in 
a statement. "As physicians, we need to have a better understanding 
about the benefits and risks of medicinal cannabis so that we can 
provide the best care possible to our patients."

The policy was quickly condemned by at least one police group.

"I wonder what they're smoking," said John Lovell, spokesman for the 
California Police Chiefs Association told the Los Angeles Times. 
"Given everything that we know about the physiological impacts of 
marijuana - how it affects young brains, the number of accidents 
associated with driving under the influence - it's just an 
unbelievably irresponsible position."

The federal government lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, similar 
to heroin. As such, it has no medicinal value in the eyes of federal 
regulators. Sixteen states, including California, have legalized the 
drug for medicinal use, although its federal classification makes it 
illegal for doctors to prescribe.

In California, doctors can issue only a written "recommendation" to a 
patient to use the drug.

The CMA says the federal government's stance keeps physicians from 
being able to study the effects of using pot. The doctors group also 
urges legalization so pot can be regulated and taxed similar to 
alcohol and cigarettes. The CMA says the federal government's "War on 
Drugs" is a failure that's done nothing to stop people from using marijuana.

Doctors consider marijuana to be untested folk medicine, with the 
"inadequate" data available showing "very limited" health benefits 
that include helping with pain, nausea and anorexia, according to the 
CMA's white paper released today.

Cannabis use also has been associated with health risks, including 
addiction, memory loss, slower reaction time, development of 
psychotic disorders and reproductive risks, the CMA says.

The limited science available puts doctors in California in a 
position of being asked by patients to give them permission to use 
the drug without really knowing how much they should use and whether 
the drug is going to do them harm, the CMA says.

"There simply isn't the scientific evidence to understand the 
benefits and risks of medical cannabis," CMA board Chairman Dr. Paul 
Phinney said in a statement. "We undertook this issue a couple of 
years ago and the report presented this weekend is clear - in order 
for the proper studies to be done, we need to advocate for the 
legalization and regulation."

The CMA's announcement comes the same month as federal prosecutors in 
California announced they were cracking down on the state's pot 
industry, which they say has rapidly become a booming business 
flouting the state's medical marijuana laws.

Dispensaries all across California - including three of the 16 in 
Redding - were told to shut down or face criminal charges.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom