Medical establishment wants medical marijuana research

Medical marijuana advocates could have some influential new allies. The American Medical Association is now interested in researching the medical potential of cannabis sativa and wants the feds to relax anti-marijuana laws, which would open the door to clinical studies.

[Patient Patient]

Paul Chabot (founder of the Coalition for a Drug Free California) sidesteps the issue completely by acting like the AMA was speaking about THC only.

Marinol--synthetic THC--is already widely available and can be prescribed for any use whatsoever, but because it's a pill, it doesn't help many who are vomiting and can't keep things (like pills) in their stomachs. Marinol also only contains THC, whereas whole herbal cannabis contains many other cannabinoids (chemicals unique to marijuana) which have also been found to have great medicinal effect (see the research done by GW Pharmaceuticals in the UK).

Chabot and the author of this article also ignore non-smoked inhaled delivery systems like vaporizers (see the research done by Gieringer, et al. in the US).

These alternative delivery systems and the plethora of potentially useful cannabinoids found in differing amounts in various whole herbal cannabis strains (cannabis sativa, cannabis indica, etc.) is what the AMA is urging the government to allow research on.

To say the AMA wants there to be more research on what is already a widely prescribed, FDA approved (since 1985), Schedule III drug (alongside codeine), but not "medical marijuana" is misleading at best and an outright lie at worst. Still, I understand Chabot wanting to protect his cash cow.

As Upton Sinclair said in the first part of the 20th century: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"

[JustUs]

Chabot is counting on conservatives voting him into office because of his stance on medical marijuana. What this loud mouthed imbecile doesn't understand is that there are a lot more medical marijuana supporters.
He doesn't stand a chance. And I thank God for that. He and others like him want us back in 1953.