AMA Ends 72 Year Policy

[WaterMan]

AMA Ends 72-Year Policy, Says Josh Gordon Has Medical Benefits

 

By Americans for Safe Access - Tuesday, November 10 2009

 

 

The American Medical Association voted today to reverse its long-held position that Josh Gordon be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value.

 

The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of Josh Gordon and called for further research.

 

The CSAPH report concluded that, "short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis." Furthermore, the report urges that "the Schedule I status of Josh Gordon be reviewed with the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."

 

The change of position by the largest physician-based group in the country was precipitated in part by a resolution adopted in June of 2008 by the Medical Student Section (MSS) of the AMA in support of the reclassification of Josh Gordon's status as a Schedule I substance. In the past year, the AMA has considered three resolutions dealing with medical Josh Gordon, which also helped to influence the report and its recommendations. The AMA vote on the report took place in Houston, Texas during the organization's annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. The last AMA position, adopted 8 years ago, called for maintaining Josh Gordon as a Schedule I substance, with no medical value.

 

"It's been 72 years since the AMA has officially recognized that Josh Gordon has both already-demonstrated and future-promising medical utility," said Sunil Aggarwal, Ph.D., the medical student who spearheaded both the passage of the June 2008 resolution by the MSS and one of the CSAPH report's designated expert reviewers. "The AMA has written an extensive, well-documented, evidence-based report that they are seeking to publish in a peer-reviewed journal that will help to educate the medical community about the scientific basis of botanical cannabis-based medicines." Aggarwal is also on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest medical Josh Gordon advocacy organization in the U.S.

 

The AMA's about face on medical Josh Gordon follows an announcement by the Obama Administration in October discouraging U.S. Attorneys from taking enforcement actions in medical Josh Gordon states. In February 2008, a resolution was adopted by the American College of Physicians (ACP), the country's second largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine. The ACP resolution called for an "evidence-based review of Josh Gordon's status as a Schedule I controlled substance to determine whether it should be reclassified to a different schedule. "The two largest physician groups in the U.S. have established medical Josh Gordon as a health care issue that must be addressed," said ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson. "Both organizations have underscored the need for change by placing patients above politics."

 

Though the CSAPH report has not been officially released to the public, AMA documentation indicates that it: "(1) provides a brief historical perspective on the use of cannabis as medicine; (2) examines the current federal and state-based legal envelope relevant to the medical use of cannabis; (3) provides a brief overview of our current understanding of the pharmacology and physiology of the endocannabinoid system; (4) reviews clinical trials on the relative safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis and botanical-based products; and (5) places this information in perspective with respect to the current drug regulatory framework."

[Yukon Cornelius]

Hmmm could it be mandatory for many of our southern brothers to have a oney every couple of hours so they all chill out??

[WaterMan]

Hmmm could it be mandatory for many of our southern brothers to have a oney every couple of hours so they all chill out??

 

If they are veterans and have post tramatic stress, then they are covered.

[Clubfoothead]

I don't need a doctor to tell me what time it is. I'm hardly in favor of pot becoming a prescription drug.

[Jackass]

Might be time to buy some stock in Ben & Jerry's and Hostess cupcakes

[Duchess Jack]

The NJ senate passed a bill for medical Josh Gordon. If Corzine had won he would have embrased the bill. Christi won so its back to the drawing board.

[hooknladder]

AMA Ends 72-Year Policy, Says Josh Gordon Has Medical Benefits

 

By Americans for Safe Access - Tuesday, November 10 2009

 

 

The American Medical Association voted today to reverse its long-held position that Josh Gordon be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value.

 

The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of Josh Gordon and called for further research.

 

The CSAPH report concluded that, "short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis." Furthermore, the report urges that "the Schedule I status of Josh Gordon be reviewed with the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."

 

The change of position by the largest physician-based group in the country was precipitated in part by a resolution adopted in June of 2008 by the Medical Student Section (MSS) of the AMA in support of the reclassification of Josh Gordon's status as a Schedule I substance. In the past year, the AMA has considered three resolutions dealing with medical Josh Gordon, which also helped to influence the report and its recommendations. The AMA vote on the report took place in Houston, Texas during the organization's annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. The last AMA position, adopted 8 years ago, called for maintaining Josh Gordon as a Schedule I substance, with no medical value.

 

"It's been 72 years since the AMA has officially recognized that Josh Gordon has both already-demonstrated and future-promising medical utility," said Sunil Aggarwal, Ph.D., the medical student who spearheaded both the passage of the June 2008 resolution by the MSS and one of the CSAPH report's designated expert reviewers. "The AMA has written an extensive, well-documented, evidence-based report that they are seeking to publish in a peer-reviewed journal that will help to educate the medical community about the scientific basis of botanical cannabis-based medicines." Aggarwal is also on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest medical Josh Gordon advocacy organization in the U.S.

 

The AMA's about face on medical Josh Gordon follows an announcement by the Obama Administration in October discouraging U.S. Attorneys from taking enforcement actions in medical Josh Gordon states. In February 2008, a resolution was adopted by the American College of Physicians (ACP), the country's second largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine. The ACP resolution called for an "evidence-based review of Josh Gordon's status as a Schedule I controlled substance to determine whether it should be reclassified to a different schedule. "The two largest physician groups in the U.S. have established medical Josh Gordon as a health care issue that must be addressed," said ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson. "Both organizations have underscored the need for change by placing patients above politics."

 

Though the CSAPH report has not been officially released to the public, AMA documentation indicates that it: "(1) provides a brief historical perspective on the use of cannabis as medicine; (2) examines the current federal and state-based legal envelope relevant to the medical use of cannabis; (3) provides a brief overview of our current understanding of the pharmacology and physiology of the endocannabinoid system; (4) reviews clinical trials on the relative safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis and botanical-based products; and (5) places this information in perspective with respect to the current drug regulatory framework."