MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: RECONSIDER POT

The American Medical Association's (AMA) recent recommendation to
reconsider the federal status of marijuana is another step toward
legalization of pot, no matter how much the group denies it.

In its Nov. 10 statement, the 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."

Of course, that statement is quickly followed up by this one
disclaimer: "This should not be viewed as an endorsement of
state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana,
or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets
the current standards for a prescription drug product."

Oh, of course not. We wouldn't even consider reading any of that into
the statement. But at the very least, changing the federal definition
of marijuana could be a step toward eliminating the conflict that
currently exists between laws in states like Colorado, which allow the
use of medical marijuana, and federal law, which continues to
criminalize weed completely.

If the federal definition were changed, maybe it could keep
municipalities from slipping in a medical marijuana ban simply by
requiring businesses to adhere to federal laws.