The House of Delegates for the American Medical Association has called for an historic review of marijuana’s position on the DEA’s Controlled Substances List. Marijuana is currently listed with heroin, PCP, LSD in the Schedule 1 category of that list, meaning it has no value as a medicine and has a high potential for addiction.

In a story from Salem-News.com, the revised policy, adopted today, states, “Our AMA urges 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, and alternate delivery methods.”

The story went on to explain “that this position should not be construed as an endorsement of state medical marijuana programs.”

The shift by the AMA is considered major by medical marijuana proponents, because that body has traditionally backed keeping marijuana on the DEA’s Schedule 1, which has prevented research into the plant’s medical properties. Those include its use in the treatment of glaucoma, in relieving nausea related to chemotherapy, in reducing the symptoms of muscular dystrophy, in helping to alleviate stress, in reducing grand mal seizures in people with epilepsy and in a host of other conditions and diseases.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 1:28 pm by Peter Gorman and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.