 |
| The FDA outlaws the use
of marijuana for medical purposes.(file
photo) |
BEIJING, April 22
(Xinhuanet) -- U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) announced its oppositon to the use of marijuana for medical purposes, a decision
not only contradicting a 1999 report by medical
experts on medicinal use of marijuana for certain conditions, but also
overriding state efforts to legalize the plant.
In the statement released on late
Thursday, the FDA declares that "no sound scientific studies supported medical use of
marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or
human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical
use."
The 1999 report was released by the Institute of Medicine of the
National Academy of Sciences, which concluded that marijuana was "moderately well
suited for particular conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS
wasting."
Currently, 10 states in America have passed legislation allowing the medical use of marijuana. These
include Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon,
Vermont and Washington. Arizona also enacted similar legislation, but with no
formal program to administer marijuana by prescription.
"These measures are inconsistent with efforts to ensure that
medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the FDA approval process
and are proven safe and effective." FDA said.
Backed
by FDA's decision, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency (DEA) now has the right to enforce federal
laws opposing the medical use of marijuana -- even in states
that have passed legislation allowing its use.
Both
the DEA and the FDA also enjoy the backing of U.S. Supreme Court. In
a 6-3 decision in June 2005, the court ruled that DEA agents were within their
rights in 2001 to arrest two California residents who were using marijuana at the time to help ease
their symptoms -- one with brain cancer and the other with severe back
pain.
Dr. William M. Lamers, a consultant
to the Hospice Foundation of America, framed the battle over medical marijuana as
a bureaucratic turf war. "It's a matter of states rights versus federal rights," he
said. "
Marijuana has been effective
in relieving pain and chemotherapy-related symptons such as nausea
and vomiting.
Marijuana has also been effective in
stimulating the appetite of people with AIDS and other conditions that
are accompanied with a loss of appetite,
Lamers said.Enditem
(Agencies)
