Leading Medical Association Determines Cannabis Is Medicine

Several prominent figures of the nation’s leading medical society recently published a series of documents in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggesting that cannabis does, in fact, possess a number of important health benefits.

After conducting an analysis on a number of clinical studies, researchers came forward last month with five crucial reports that reveals cannabis use “for chronic pain, neuropathic pain and spasticity due to multiple sclerosis is supported by high-quality evidence.”

These reports confirm decades of independent study surrounding the cannabis plant, as well as discount the claim that “marijuana is not medicine,” which is often made by those who oppose its legalization.

The American Medical Association once stood against the prohibition of marijuana, but that opinion, throughout the years, became more in line with the ideals of the federal government. Marijuana advocates say it’s refreshing to have this organization back on the side of reason – at least to some degree.

Nevertheless, some media outlets have professed the JAMA reports to be based on junk science, arguing that “there was low-quality evidence suggesting that cannabinoids were associated with improvements in nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, weight gain in HIV infection, sleep disorders and Tourette syndrome.”

An editorial written by Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza claims “there is some evidence to support the use of marijuana for nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy, specific pain syndromes and spasticity from multiple sclerosis. However, for most other indications that qualify by state law for use of medical marijuana, such as hepatitis C, Crohn disease, Parkinson disease, or Tourette syndrome, the evidence supporting its use is of poor quality.”

The only problem with the JAMA findings, according to experts in the field of cannabis, is that the majority of the research conducted over the past several decades has been to explore the evils of the cannabis plant.

“You know how incredibly hard it is to do research that is intended to confirm benefits of cannabis?” said Clint Warner, author of “Marijuana: Gateway to Health” in the East Bay Express. “It’s impossible. We still have a huge catch-22.”

The Obama Administration recently lifted some of the restrictions that have previously made it difficult for researchers to study the positive effects of the cannabis plant. Experts believe that once this impeding issue is addressed, more relative evidence on the health potentials of cannabis will emerge in abundance.

Have you used cannabis to treat your medical condition? Share your experience in the comments below.