Drug Watch
International
Position Statement
MARIJUANA FOR MEDICAL USE
Leaf
marijuana is not medicine. It is a
harmful psychoactive drug, composed of over 400 different chemicals, which
should not be used by anyone, especially by people who are ill.
Background:
In
the last several years, the public has seen the issue of the therapeutic
applications of leaf marijuana reach the level of discussions of public policy.
This movement has been fueled by the forces seeking to legalize marijuana. By
having marijuana listed as a medicine they hope to "legitimize"
marijuana.
Rationale:
Smoked
marijuana is neither an acceptable medical treatment nor an alternative medical
treatment for any illness.
Marijuana
use has serious health consequences. Concentration,
motor coordination, memory, lungs, reproductive and immune systems are all
adversely impacted by marijuana use; marijuana is addictive.
Physicians
who treat people for cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, and other diseases do not favor the
use of marijuana. Not one American
health organization accepts marijuana as medicine. These include the American Medical Association, National
Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Glaucoma Society, American Academy of
Ophthalmology, and American Cancer Society
FDA/DEA
have repeatedly rejected marijuana for medicinal use. Marijuana fails to meet any of the Drug Enforcement
Administration's requirements or Federal Drug Administration's eight criteria
for approving drugs for medical use.
Even
Marinol, a synthetic form of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), available by
prescription for treating nausea, has far more negative health effects than the
other available agents.
There
are numerous safer and more effective anti-nausea agents These include
prochlorperazine (Compazine), Metaclopramide (Reglan), lorazepam,
corticosteroids, thiethylperazine
(Torecan), ondansetron (Zofran),
promethazine (Phenergan), perphenazine
(Trilafon), and
chlorpromazine. Pro-drug
lobby exploits the suffering of patients with chronic illlnesses with
false promises about marijuana as medicine.
Promoters
of drug legalization have stated that they are pushing marijuana as medicine and
using it as a "red herring" as part of a strategy to legalize
marijuana for general use.
COPYRIGHT:
Permission is granted to reproduce this article,
provided
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ALLIANCE FOR CANNABIS THERAPEUTICS V. DEA
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(References
updated 1/96)
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