AMA REJECTS MEDICAL POT

The American Medical Association House of Delegates failed to endorse a
proposal supporting the use of medical marijuana at its conference last
month. The new policy - minus support for medical cannabis - was adopted
at the group's annual policy meeting in Chicago.

The proposal supporting the compassionate use of medical cannabis under
certain circumstances was put forth by the AMA's council on scientific
affairs. The council had asked the organization to endorse medical
marijuana as "last-resort pain relief for seriously ill patients."
Michael Krawitz, a disabled veteran who has an artificial hip and is
missing part of his intestinal tract, testified that marijuana relieves
his pain.

Prior to the meeting, the council prepared a report reviewing the
social, legal, and medical context of marijuana use, and examined the
effectiveness of medical marijuana to treat various conditions. The
report said that THC (an active component of cannabis) was "only
moderately effective" in treating HIV-related wasting and "clearly less
effective than current standard therapies" in treating nausea due to
chemotherapy. The report further stated that "anecdotal, survey, and
clinical trial data support the view that smoked marijuana and oral THC
provide subjective relief of spasticity, pain, and tremor in some
patients with multiple sclerosis or trauma," and that "smoked marijuana
may benefit individual patients suffering from intermittent or chronic
pain." The council called for further research to develop methods of
medical cannabis use that do not involve smoking.

The council's report was completed before the U.S. Supreme Court's May
decision that marijuana has no currently accepted medical use, but
council chair Dr. Michael A. Williams stated that the court's ruling
"would not change the science of the report." Said council member Dr.
Melvin Sterling, "This report is about the relief of suffering; it's not
about getting high."

Those opposing the council's proposal in support of medical pot argued
that marijuana has a potential for abuse, and that an AMA endorsement of
medicinal cannabis could be seen as support for broader marijuana
legalization.

While the delegates did not directly support the use of medical
cannabis, they did endorse "the free and unfettered exchange of
information on treatment alternatives." The previous AMA policy from
1997 called for more research on the safety and effectiveness of medical
marijuana, but rejected the reclassification of cannabis from a Schedule
I to a Schedule II drug.

The House of Delegates also voted last month to approve a resolution
asking the Boy Scouts of America to reconsider its ban on gay members,
and decided not to lobby for a ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of
prescription drugs. The group also rejected a resolution endorsing a
moratorium on the death penalty, but did reaffirm its opposition to
physicians assisting in executions.