Physicians group urges easing of ban on medical marijuana

SACRAMENTO -- -- A large and respected association of physicians is calling on the federal government to ease its strict ban on marijuana as medicine and hasten research into the drug's therapeutic uses.

The American College of Physicians, the nation's largest organization of doctors of internal medicine, with 124,000 members, contends that the long and rancorous debate over marijuana legalization has obscured good science that has demonstrated the benefits and medicinal promise of cannabis

In a 13-page position paper approved by the college's governing board of regents and posted Thursday on the group's website, the group calls on the government to drop marijuana from Schedule I, a classification it shares with illegal drugs such as heroin and LSD that are considered to have no medicinal value and a high likelihood of abuse.

The declaration could put new pressure on Washington lawmakers and government regulators who for decades have rejected attempts to reclassify marijuana.
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Put on the pressure!:thumbsup:

Have a good one!:jointsmile:

A lot of the info that senators get is from the outdated and flat wrong info that the NIH gives them. Its time to make the NIH(National Institute of Health) reevalute the data on this subject. Yeah,that'll happen.;)

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Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

Put on the pressure!:thumbsup:

Have a good one!:jointsmile:

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To quote the +rep I gave you, that I just realized you probably won't see, "Awesome link. This article put a smile on my face!"

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

The ACP needs to get OUR feedback on this! They deserve a big "THANK YOU!" at the least! Tell them how much you appreciate this as medical users. (IMHO, we are all medical users. Stress causes illness, cannabis relieves stress! Preventative medicine at it's best! :jointsmile: ) So why not make a real impact. Here is their comment page.

ACP: Contact us

A lot of you have wondered how can we get cannabis legalized? Well, the ACP has massive political clout! Think about it, then write them! Don't blow this opportunity off! - Granny :hippy:

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Originally Posted by Storm Crow

A lot of you have wondered how can we get cannabis legalized? Well, the ACP has massive political clout! Think about it, then write them! Don't blow this opportunity off! - Granny :hippy:

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Granny-

I've taken what you said to heart, as I always do, and am in the process of writing a letter to the ACP. Nothing too forward, just a sincere appreciation for the stand they're taking. If I can get my printer working, I'll get it in the mail tomorrow. Thanks for updating this thread with their contact link!

How do you think this will be treated by the media? And more importantly, how can responsible medical users get behind advocacy groups like the ACP? If this gets no coverage from the media, and only a fraction of the potential support from the public because of it, I don't see the feds being very permissive of the idea. I can't describe how elated that initial L.A. Times article made me... and I'm sure there are A LOT of like-minded people in this country who were just as happy as me to read about it. I want to to make sure that we hear these things more often! Wouldn't it be killer if this became a noteworthy topic in some of the presidential debates/campaigns? A favorable stand on a topic like this, in my opinion, has the potential to sway the opinions of swing voters and non-voters alike. I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it...

:angry3:

I was rather happy to find this out. I'll be sure to bring it up the next time I talk to my senator.

The American College of Physicians follow The American Psychiatric Association, which followed the American Medical Association, which followed states' nurses organizations, which are proven to be right by world's team of research scientists, and, all this is taken under the word of our previous century's bigwigs.

Sooner or later, the government is going to send around a guy who will chop off our tongues. We need our limbs for labor.

:thumbsup:

this is wonderful! little by little we'll get there hopefully. And props Cland for the letter, every bit helps and all of us appreciate everything everyone does for this.

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Originally Posted by Twentyinches

And props Cland for the letter, every bit helps and all of us appreciate everything everyone does for this.

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Thanks man. If more people would speak out in favor of its use as medicine, especially people from walks of life like the ACP, we'll just keep seeing progress being made. Like you said, little by little we're making a difference. One day, the culmination of it all will hopefully overwhelm those still opposed. Until then, I'll keep writing my letters, and keep being an advocate in any way I can! :jointsmile: