The last smoke: medical marijuana. (American Survey)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

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The Drug Enforcement Agency and Public Health Service have both banned the medical use of marijuana. The federal agencies base their regulation on an alleged lack of studies on the safety and effectiveness of marijuana, but a study by Harvard University shows that most oncologists believe marijuana is an effective pain-killer.

MEDICINES often produce side-effects. Sometimes they are physically unpleasant. Many doctors consider marijuana effective in relieving the nausea of chemotherapy, treating glaucoma and helping AIDS patients gain weight. It too has discomforting side-effects, but these are not physical. They are political.

On March 18th the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) rejected the pleas of medical-marijuana advocates to reclassify the drug so that it could...

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