Facts about Marijuana

2009.04.26

Voters and other health organizations gave full support on Medical marijuana. However, federal Government implemented some changes to marijuana’s illegal status at the federal level. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the government can prosecute medical marijuana patients, even in states with compassionate use laws. Some medical marijuana dispensaries in California were subjected to Drug Enforcement Administration raids.

In the Federal Law, on June 2005 Supreme Court decision gain an opportunity to protect patients amendment to a Justice Department spending bill that would have prohibited the department from spending any money to undermine state medical marijuana laws. The modification offered for the third year in a row by Maurice Hinchey and Dana Rohrabacher did not pass but got plenty of votes more than it has ever received before. Supplementary given in 1998, the U.S house of Representatives voted a non-binding resolution adjudging medical marijuana.

Marijuana is being classified as a substance having an excellent potential for abuse and no medicinal value. Over the last 30 years, multiple petitions for rescheduling marijuana have been submitted by reform advocates. The food and drug administration has not given any feedback yet for this petition.

The federal government was forcefully obliged to allow some patients access to marijuana after medical necessity defense was acknowledge in court, creating the Investigational New Drug compassionate access program. They allow patients to receive medical marijuana from the government yet were closed to new patients after it was flooded with AIDS application in 1992. Today, there are seven surviving patients that receive marijuana from the federal government.

State Laws in 2005, the Supreme Court decision does not affect the state law and 99% of all marijuana arrests take place at the state or local level. This means that the state laws granted substantial protection to medical marijuana patients. The District of Columbia has symbolic medical marijuana laws that support medical marijuana but do not provide patients with legal protection under state law. However, the New Mexico passed its marijuana bill in early 2007. Only 69 % of votes approved a medical marijuana initiative but the Congress was not able to grant it since the District of Columbia is not a state. In addition to dynamic changing state laws, medical marijuana advocates have pursued reform through the courts. .

Medical marijuana is one of the controversial issues widely supported by people in drug policy reform. Plenty of published studies suggest that marijuana has medical value in treating patients with fatal illnesses such as AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and chronic pain. The institute of medicine in the comprehensive study of medical marijuana’s effectiveness to date concluded that basic abnormal feeling sensation such as nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety can be mitigated by marijuana. Several big organizations discussed on allowing patients legal access to medical marijuana including Public Health Association, AIDS Action Council and other active running institution health program. Public opinion is also in favor of ending the deprivation of medical use of marijuana.