A.M.A. Changes It's Position On Marijuana

The largest group representing physicians in the country is the American Medical Association (AMA), which has over 250,000 members. Traditionally, they have accepted without question the government's position on marijuana, and have always supported the idea that marijuana should continue to be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance (like heroin or LSD).

Of course, this is a ludicrous stance since marijuana is non-habit forming and far less dangerous than many legal drugs. Now it looks like the AMA is starting to come to their senses -- sort of. At least they've taken the first step toward sanity.

On Tuesday, the AMA asked the federal government to reconsider their classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medical use. Dr. Edward Langston, an AMA board member, said, "Despite more than 30 years of clinical research, only a small number of randomized, controlled trials have been conducted on smoked cannabis, insufficient to satisfy the current standards for a prescription drug product."

The AMA made it clear that they were not saying marijuana should be legalized or they support the state medical marijuana programs. They just think the drug needs to get a fresh look and perhaps some more research should be done on its medical efficacy. Still it represents a radical change from their previous stance.

The AMA also should be commended for defeating an amendment to their stance. The amendment said that "smoking is an inherently unsafe delivery method for any therapeutic agent, and therefore smoked marijuana should not be recommended for medical use."

There have been some tests in the past where patients were given THC pills to control nausea, instead of smoking marijuana. The problem was that the pills did not work as well for many patients as smoking did. There may well be some calming effect in the actual smoking that the pills can never duplicate.

Someday, the recreational use of marijuana will be legal for adults. But old fears, however irrational, die hard and it may take many more years. In the meantime, I am consoled by the changing positions of organizations like the AMA and the American College of Physicians (who adopted a similar position last year).