latively “safe” drug. “There is no known case of overdose; on the basis of animal models, the ratio of lethal to effective dose is 40,000 to 1” (Grinspoon). Even some opponents of marijuana legalization support reclassification. Two physicians, in a widely distributed opinions piece entitled “Marijuana Smoking as Medicine: A Cruel Hoax”, wrote; “While the reclassification of THC to Schedule II might be understandable, this would not be the result of smoking the crude drug marijuana, which would as a result become more available and more readily diverted for non-medical use” (Nahas). Although this evidence clearly does not support the legalization of marijuana, it highlights one of many discrepancies that cloud this smoky debate. Lester Grinspoon, MD, is a proponent of the medical legalization and re-classification of marijuana. In the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Grinspoon wrote an article entitled “A Plea for Reconsideration”. In this plea, Grinspoon suggests that marijuana should be reclassified to a Schedule II class drug, so that it might be legally prescribed. He writes: In a 1990 survey, 44% of oncologists said they had suggested that a patient smoke marihuana for relief of the nausea induced by chemotherapy. If marihuana were actually unsafe for use under medical supervision, as its Schedule I status explicitly affirms, this recommendation would be unthinkable. It is time for physicians to acknowledge more openly that this present classification is scientifically, legally, and morally wrong. (Grinspoon)Like many other physicians fighting for the re-classification of marijuana, Dr. Grinspoon makes claims only towards the drug’s medical benefits. However, their rhetoric in calling the issue “morally wrong” suggests that they may have other motives as well. Furthermore, the fact that “44% of oncologists” suggested their ...
