DOCTORS DEMOLISH MYTHS ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

New Analysis Shows Feds Are Wrong on Pot

As Michigan voters prepare to consider a November ballot initiative
to protect seriously ill patients who use medical marijuana from
arrest and jail, one of America's leading medical societies has come
down forcefully on the side of compassion and common sense, in
supporting medical marijuana for seriously ill people. These doctors
have demolished the myths being floated by opponents of medical marijuana.

The American College of Physicians is the nation's largest medical
specialty organization and the second largest physician group in the
United States.

Its membership numbers 124,000 doctors - specialists in internal
medicine, cardiology, neurology, pulmonary disease, oncology and
infectious diseases, among others. ACP publishes Annals of Internal
Medicine, the most widely cited medical specialty journal in the world.

In a just-released position paper, backed up with 10 pages of
scientific documentation and references, ACP says the federal
government is wrong to classify marijuana as unsuitable for medical
use and urges an immediate review of its status, "given the
scientific evidence regarding marijuana's safety and efficacy in some
clinical situations." ACP specifically calls for "protection from
criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as
permitted under state laws," such as the one Michigan will soon vote on.

ACP directly takes on the myths already being raised by opponents:

ACP cites studies showing that marijuana's active components "may
provide symptom relief not found in any other medication" for
patients suffering from AIDS or undergoing cancer chemotherapy and
experiencing severe pain, nausea and appetite loss.

ACP explains that a technology called vaporization removes the
hazards of smoking while maintaining the benefits that patients prefer.

ACP notes that the THC pill called Marinol, touted as a substitute
for marijuana, has "serious limitations" due to "slow absorption" and
side effects that are "more severe."

"Marijuana has not been shown to be the cause of even the most
serious predictor of serious drug abuse," the doctors write, adding
pointedly, "Opiates are highly addictive yet medically effective ...
There is no evidence to suggest that medical use of opiates has
increased perception that their illicit use is safe or acceptable."

The group representing 124,000 physicians has declared that it's time
for public policy to recognize "marijuana's proven efficacy at
treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity."

Michigan voters should take the doctors' advice this November and
vote to protect seriously ill patients from arrest and jail.