On Tuesday, the American Medical Association announced that while they still consider marijuana a dangerous drug and a public health concern, federal efforts to curb marijuana use are ineffective. The organization recommended continuing the criminalization of marijuana sales but suggested that marijuana use be treated with a public health approach rather than incarceration. The AMA also stated that they would be paying close attention to Colorado and Washington as they begin to implement regulated…

A study released by the American Medical Association is getting a whole lot of attention this week, as it rightly should. This study, which shows that people who smoke marijuana exhibit little to no harmful pulmonary effects from their use, pokes a gigantic, gaping hole in one of the most often-employed attacks against marijuana reform. According to the 20-year study, those who used marijuana occasionally (2-3 times a month) did not show any decrease in lung functioning and, in some cases, actually…

We told readers a few weeks ago that MPP would update them on how the government was responding to the American Medical Association’s new policy on marijuana. To refresh everyone’s memory, the AMA’s new policy is: Our 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, and alternate delivery methods. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based…

Another Justice Department Web site with a cute name is hanging on to misinformation about the American Medical Association’s position on medical marijuana. From JustThinkTwice.org: The American Medical Association has rejected pleas to endorse marijuana as medicine, and instead has urged that marijuana remain a prohibited, Schedule I drug, at least until more research is done. It's false, and it needs to change. Please join me in sending an e-mail to [email protected] and asking them to update this…

We’ve been updating readers this week about the American Medical Association’s new position on marijuana and the DEA’s response. Last night, the DEA removed a number of AMA-related talking points from its Web site. This may seem like a very small, almost meaningless step, but it’s important to remember how influential the AMA really is. Striking this language from the DEA’s Web site is a manifestation of something larger and more abstract: the gutting of our opponents’ most effective talking point. I…

Tonight, after a week of calls by activists, the Drug Enforcement Administration updated its Web site to reflect the American Medical Association’s recent call for a review of marijuana’s Schedule I status. The update removed several references to the AMA, including: “the American Medical Association recommends that marijuana remain a Schedule I controlled substance,” and “the American Medical Association has rejected pleas to endorse marijuana as medicine.” These changes came just over a week after…

Last week’s announcement from the American Medical Association -- calling for a federal review of marijuana's legal status -- has been well received in the media, reaching the pages of The Washington Post, LA Times, and other publications. One group that hasn’t got the message is the Drug Enforcement Administration. This is no surprise, as the DEA has been ignoring recommendations to research marijuana’s medical benefits for decades. But this example is particularly egregious. On the DEA Web page…

In its official response to the AMA’s recent call for a review of marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug (barring any medical use) under federal law, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy stated that it would defer to "the FDA's judgment that the raw marijuana plant cannot meet the standards for identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging and labeling required of medicine." While we’re not used to factual accuracy from ONDCP, in this case they’re wrong not once, but twice. First,…

Big news: The American Medical Association adopted a new policy position today calling for the review of marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug. The revised policy "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, and alternate delivery methods.” While it goes on to explain that the AMA is not stating support for state medical marijuana laws, the new…