The AMA Lost it’s Battle in The War on Drugs

Since the 1980s, the AMA has fallen in line with our government’s prohibition of cannabis, but has encouraged that laws be reformed to reflect the true nature of the substance, which was not really dangerous enough to carry the stiff penalties that possession and use now carry in much of the U.S. Their encouragement wasn’t enough. In 1990 they stated that public opinion, (created by the government and now accepted in the mainstream as truth), should not stand in the way of scientific research. In 1996 they again urged the government to fund marijuana research, and continued to do so throughout the beginning years of this millennium, and the feds still maintain that more research was needed before removing marijuana from the Schedule 1 designation. Duh. This is really crazy since the feds have been promoting it’s medicinal uses for hospice and HIV/AIDS with their own program and patients for decades now.

At this point, early in this decade, the AMA had a war going on among themselves and the pro-marijuana doctors were not gaining enough momentum. Most doctors will not utilize a drug based on anecdotal evidence, because they have been trained to only accept scientific evidence, and I can certainly understand why considering what the pharmaceutical companies push these days in the guise of being a “medicine. But come on, physicians used marijuana for hundreds of years, knew its worth and still let prohibition happen, be it reluctantly. They did continue pushing for and end to its prohibition, but it was falling on deaf ears in the government. The AMA gave away their power to politicians and pharmaceutical corporations. They should have fought harder for what they knew was true. But finally, in 2009 the AMA publicly announced that after 72 years it was reversing its policy on marijuana and urged our government to do the same so that further clinical research could resume in America. Many of its members had also been pushing for the AMA to recognize the rights of states that had voted in Compassionate Use laws, but it doesn’t have much momentum. What they need to do is demand the government remove marijuana/cannabis form its Schedule 1 designation. This is imperative. How can they, as health care professionals, live with their own acceptance of this?

Not enough doctors have jumped on-board, not only because they are not educated about cannabis, but also because they fear repercussions. Insurance companies and corporate big box medical conglomerates as well as universities connected to hospitals have all prohibited their physicians, nurses and other employees to participate in legal medical cannabis programs, citing that it is still illegal under federal law and federal funding if any, as well as medicare/medicaid payments may cease if the federal laws are not upheld in the workplace. What a shitty thing to do. But healthcare has been changing drastically for years and any one could have seen this coming. I am encouraged that mainstream healthcare providers are at least giving a blessing now to other alternative therapies, and if the government would just reschedule weed perhaps things could change in that respect too.

The cannabis community sees a light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve mentioned The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention in another post. They still exist today, but it seems their emphasis has drifted away from botanicals and other natural remedies. To be fair, though, so has health care in America. Enter now, (in 1995) the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. They are focusing on plant remedies widely used in America, but not so much in “mainstream” medicine. But before you say “new age bullshit”, realize that these dedicated professionals are revealing the basics of ancient medicines utilizing modern methods and technology. It’s not New Age Voodoo.

Try as I may, I find it hard to understand why we must now have 2 Pharmacopoeias, but no matter. They both use the same methods of monographs, but don’t cover all the same plants. Since cannabis was dropped from the U.S. Pharmacopoeial and has remained “off the list” for decades, I am just pleased that it has finally been picked up again by the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, and their final report is coming out sometime in 2014. For a sample of a detailed report, (called a monograph) please check out the sample monograph of Valarian here on their website. Creating monographs is a painstakingly awesome task, and the monogram of Cannabis Monograph is being finalized now. So much information! I anxiously await.

Americans for Safe Access has a preview of this new Cannabis Monograph available, for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!