Bay Area Reporter - July 6, 2001
Liz Highleyman

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.
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