In July 2012 NIDA stated:
“The use of marijuana to treat various medical conditions—or “medical marijuana”—is a controversial topic and has been for some time. Some people have argued that marijuana’s reported beneficial effects on a variety of symptoms justify its legalization as a medicine for certain patients. Often the potential harm of marijuana use is not considered in these arguments, although risk is part of what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assesses when deciding whether to approve a medicine.”
A dramatic shift on how NIDA views marijuana was revised in December 2014:
“The marijuana plant contains
several chemicals that may prove useful for treating a range of
illnesses or symptoms, leading many people to argue that it should be
made legally available for medical purposes. In fact, a growing
number of states (20 as of March 2014) have legalized marijuana’s
use for certain medical conditions.
The term “medical marijuana” is generally used to refer to the
whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its crude extracts, which are
not recognized or approved as medicine by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). But scientific study of the active chemicals in
marijuana, called cannabinoids,
has led to the development of two FDA-approved medications already,
and is leading to the development of new pharmaceuticals that harness
the therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids while minimizing or
eliminating the harmful side effects (including the “high”)
produced by eating or smoking marijuana leaves.”(Source)This ideology shift has led to recent movements by the government for research and public access to marijuana. On March 10, 2015 the CARERS Act was introduced to downgrade marijuana to a schedule II drug. This bill would remove cannabidiol from the Controlled Substance Act allowing for intrastate sales.
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