cannabisnews.com: Is MMJ on the New Surgeon General's Agenda?
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Is MMJ on the New Surgeon General's Agenda?
Posted by CN Staff on February 04, 2015 at 15:25:45 PT
By Beth Ethier
Source: Slate Magazine
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CBS This Morning on Wednesday that he sees some promise in early studies on medical marijuana and indicated that he could be swayed in favor of its use for certain patients.Murthy spent most of the interview fielding questions on the expanding outbreak of measles and the role of vaccines in public health, but his interviewers saved time at the end to ask about his position on the legalization of marijuana. Calling it "an interesting story that's unfolding in our country right now," Murthy described the growing discussion about the "benefits and risks" of the drug and ongoing research into the use of medical marijuana.
Host Nora O'Donnell interrupted him: "We know all of that. We want to know your position, Mr. Surgeon General, with all due respect." Murthy did not address the issue of recreational marijuana, but spoke in favor of studying the drug's potential for treating some ailments.My position is that we have to see what the science tells us about the efficacy of marijuana, and I think we're going to get a lot more data on that. We have some preliminary data showing that for certain medical conditions and symptoms, marijuana can be helpful. So I think we need to use that data to drive policy-making, and I'll be very interested to see where that data takes us.The Hill notes that Murthy was not warm to marijuana during his confirmation hearings, when he told senators that "just like other drugs, I don't recommend marijuana, and I don't think it's a good habit to use marijuana. If I had kids, I would tell them not to use it."With the confirmation hearings behind him, a growing number of American politicians admitting to smoking pot in their youth, good preliminary news out of Colorado, and President Obama calling it no more harmful than alcohol, the atmosphere seems to have changed a bit for Murthy. If current, limited research yields positive results, Congress might be persuaded to amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow for wider study. America's top doctor will be keeping an eye on it.Source: Slate Magazine (US Web)Author:  Beth Ethier Published: February 4, 2015Copyright: 2015 The Slate Group, LLC.Contact: letters slate.comWebsite: http://www.slate.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/xGjFAe5ICannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by Oleg the Tumor on February 06, 2015 at 09:32:37 PT
The Coming Constitutional Mandate?
Amendments to the Constitution of the United States are said to be "ratified" when two thirds of the states approve.On the "medical marijuana" issue, a legal scholar might observe that when two thirds of the states change their laws to differ from the federal government's position on a "schedule 1" substance (the most dangerous known), then the states themselves might have grounds to petition the Supreme Court for a "Writ of Mandamus" or some other legal mumble-D-peg to settle this thing.How many more states do we need?FREE THE PRISONER OF SCHEDULE 1!
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 04, 2015 at 18:24:31 PT
The GCW
You are right!
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on February 04, 2015 at 18:15:22 PT
Help if You wish, otherwise You're not in the way.
Whether or not cannabis is on U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's agenda is less of an issue in locations where citizens have more control over their own lives.It matters more in states where the initiative process is not available to citizens. At some point, when a few more states RE-legalize cannabis for medical use, the wall will surely collapse. In the mean time We're not waiting on government which has proven to be the problem.Government's record for creating, reinforcing, perpetuating etc. cannabis prohibition -one of America's worst policy failures in history, is immense.Government's record for fixing the historically discredited cannabis prohibition is almost nonexistent. If You want to help, fine. Otherwise You're so insignificant You're not even in the way. 
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