her research on the topic” There have been no government-funded studies of marijuana’s medical value in more than a decade.In1996, the Clinton administration opposed voter initiatives in California and Arizona to legalize marijuana for medical use. After both initiatives passed, “Federal official’s threatened to criminally prosecute physicians or revoke their licenses to prescribe controlled substances simply for recommending smoked marijuana to their patients” A number of anti-drug organizations argued against legalizing the medical use of marijuana, claiming that any change in the law would send the “Wrong message” to teenagers about marijuana’s dangers. Many medical associations oppose the government’s strict prohibitionist position on medical marijuana. Some of these are the American Public Health Association, the Federation of American Scientists, the Physicians Association for AIDS Care, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, and former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, as well as The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. In defiance of existing law, people across the country use marijuana for medical purposes. Some do with the knowledge and approval of their physicians. Because the practice is illegal, most patients use marijuana medically without medical supervision. Marijuana’s illegality means that patients cannot be sure of obtaining standardized products that are free of fungal spores a critical problem for AIDS patients who have weakened immune systems. In some cities, cannabis buyer clubs have formed to supply uncontaminated products to patients. However, in most parts of the country patients must relay on criminal markets that deliver marijuana of unknown purity and inconsistent potency. Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule II drug and creating a legal system for its distribution would guarantee that al patient...
