CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDS LEGALIZING POT

Prohibition Called 'Failed Public Policy'

Calling prohibition of marijuana "a failed public health policy," the
state's largest doctors group says the federal government should
legalize the drug so it can be studied, taxed and regulated.

The California Medical Association adopted the official policy this
weekend at its annual conference.

The doctors' association, representing 35,000 physicians, is the
first medical group to take such a stance.

It "won't be the last," CMA President-Elect Dr. James T. Hay said in
a statement. "As physicians, we need to have a better understanding
about the benefits and risks of medicinal cannabis so that we can
provide the best care possible to our patients."

The policy was quickly condemned by at least one police group.

"I wonder what they're smoking," said John Lovell, spokesman for the
California Police Chiefs Association told the Los Angeles Times.
"Given everything that we know about the physiological impacts of
marijuana - how it affects young brains, the number of accidents
associated with driving under the influence - it's just an
unbelievably irresponsible position."

The federal government lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, similar
to heroin. As such, it has no medicinal value in the eyes of federal
regulators. Sixteen states, including California, have legalized the
drug for medicinal use, although its federal classification makes it
illegal for doctors to prescribe.

In California, doctors can issue only a written "recommendation" to a
patient to use the drug.

The CMA says the federal government's stance keeps physicians from
being able to study the effects of using pot. The doctors group also
urges legalization so pot can be regulated and taxed similar to
alcohol and cigarettes. The CMA says the federal government's "War on
Drugs" is a failure that's done nothing to stop people from using marijuana.

Doctors consider marijuana to be untested folk medicine, with the
"inadequate" data available showing "very limited" health benefits
that include helping with pain, nausea and anorexia, according to the
CMA's white paper released today.

Cannabis use also has been associated with health risks, including
addiction, memory loss, slower reaction time, development of
psychotic disorders and reproductive risks, the CMA says.

The limited science available puts doctors in California in a
position of being asked by patients to give them permission to use
the drug without really knowing how much they should use and whether
the drug is going to do them harm, the CMA says.

"There simply isn't the scientific evidence to understand the
benefits and risks of medical cannabis," CMA board Chairman Dr. Paul
Phinney said in a statement. "We undertook this issue a couple of
years ago and the report presented this weekend is clear - in order
for the proper studies to be done, we need to advocate for the
legalization and regulation."

The CMA's announcement comes the same month as federal prosecutors in
California announced they were cracking down on the state's pot
industry, which they say has rapidly become a booming business
flouting the state's medical marijuana laws.

Dispensaries all across California - including three of the 16 in
Redding - were told to shut down or face criminal charges.