Surgeon General Says Cannabis is Medically Beneficial

t-dub

t-dub

Vapor Sloth
The surgeon general cannot reschedule cannabis.
Murthy’s comments, which add to a growing consensus in the medical community that marijuana has benefits, could increase pressure on the attorney general to initiate the process of reclassifying the drug under federal law.
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What was it someone said about brain damage and holding your breath? And its not always the GOP reprobates being obtuse on this issue . . .

How Democrats derailed marijuana legalization in California

The declining support for Prop. 19 from late September to November 2010 coincided with strong statements of opposition from several prominent Democrats. Perhaps most notably, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced on Oct. 15, 2010, that the Obama administration “strongly opposes” the initiative and “will vigorously enforce the (Controlled Substances Act) against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law.”

The drop in support for Prop. 19 after the Obama administration was pressured to visibly oppose marijuana legalization is more than coincidental. Political elites exert extensive influence over Americans’ policy opinions in general (see 1, 2, 3) and their referendum votes in particular (see 1, 2, 3). There is evidence that Democrats derailed popular support for Proposition 19, too.

For starters, Democratic voters in California were especially likely to change their support for Prop. 19 from September to October. While Republican opposition to Prop. 19 remained relatively stable, Democratic support declined by nine and seven percentage points in Field and PPIC Polls conducted during the final month of the campaign.

Moreover, the graph below shows that the drop in Prop. 19 support was particularly pronounced among the most politically interested Democrats in PPIC surveys. In September 2010, 75 percent of highly-interested Democrats supported the proposition compared with just 60 percent in October. Meanwhile, support from Republicans and less informed Democrats remained rather constant.

imrs.php
 
Jared

Jared

Cannabis Enthusiast
He may not be able to reschedule it, but if you don't see the Surgeon General of the a united States saying that cannabis has medicinal value posing a problem to the governments current stance that cannabis has no medicinal value I'm not really sure what to say. This is a massive deal. Never before has a part of our government (especially someone with the medical pull of the Surgeon General) said that cannabis is anything but useless and dangerous as far as I'm aware.
 
t-dub

t-dub

Vapor Sloth
Jared said:
Never before has a part of our government (especially someone with the medical pull of the Surgeon General) said that cannabis is anything but useless and dangerous as far as I'm aware.
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Thats not true. From the article YOU posted:

"Murthy isn’t the first surgeon general to wade into the debate about marijuana and drug policy. In 1993, Joycelyn Elders, the surgeon general under the Clinton administration, said the U.S. should seriously consider legalizing drugs. “I do feel we’d markedly reduce our crime rate if drugs were legalized,” she said at the time. Since leaving office, Elders has actively campaigned for states to pass medical marijuana laws."

1993-1994 M. Joycelyn Elders (appointed by President Clinton)
Joycelyn_Elders_surgeon_general.jpg

Pro
"The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day."
"Myths About Medical Marijuana," Providence Journal, Mar. 26, 2004
 
Egzoset

Egzoset

Banned
Hi again Jared,

Jared said:
...if you don't see the Surgeon General...
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IMO institutions served as the base to anti-cannabic prohibition before (...), though by this i'm not implying anything about that specific topic actually. My line of reasoning has to do with that event still being of relevant actuality in the media by February 11, the day we would expect an important juridic decision on the Scedule 1 status of cannabis in USA... If you ask me i'd imagine the Surgeon General made a lasting impression on this yet-to-come court event - 1 week to wait!

:nod:

Jared said:
...not really sure what to say. This is a massive deal.
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Euh... Somehow that's fine because eventually the Surgeon General's gesture shall inspire stronger faith in USA's justice. Lucky you.

Jared said:
Never before has a part of our government (especially someone with the medical pull of the Surgeon General) said that cannabis is anything but useless and dangerous as far as I'm aware.
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My problem with this medical reference is that it is medical, as if the problem were about medical = legal vs recreational = criminal. Re-Scheduling - or even better, de-scheduling - could lead to a more global resolution; because putting cannabis on that schedule while excluding alcohol and tobacco just wasn't rational ethically, for starters! It is wrong to support a bigot law only to stigmatize "stoners" for no justifiable motive other than biased values. Etc.

Well, i'm not so sure who of the juge or the bureaucrat will contribute most to the pro-cannabic cause but i wish they could share a common goal and help to correct some mistakes of the past, via education for example.

Too bad there won't be that much cannuck excitement anythime soon in the country of king Harper!

:peace:
 
Jared

Jared

Cannabis Enthusiast
t-dub said:
Thats not true. From the article YOU posted:

"Murthy isn’t the first surgeon general to wade into the debate about marijuana and drug policy. In 1993, Joycelyn Elders, the surgeon general under the Clinton administration, said the U.S. should seriously consider legalizing drugs. “I do feel we’d markedly reduce our crime rate if drugs were legalized,” she said at the time. Since leaving office, Elders has actively campaigned for states to pass medical marijuana laws."

1993-1994 M. Joycelyn Elders (appointed by President Clinton)
Joycelyn_Elders_surgeon_general.jpg

Pro
"The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day."
"Myths About Medical Marijuana," Providence Journal, Mar. 26, 2004
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Actually all it said in the article was that a surgeon general had said we should legalize drugs. There's a MASSIVE difference between a surgeon general generalizing all drugs, and a surgeon general saying that cannabis specifically has medical benefits which is SPECIFICALLY why it is listed as a schedule one drug (because the government says it doesn't) - especially with there now being 23 states with one form of legal cannabis or another.
 
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t-dub

t-dub

Vapor Sloth
@Jared, perhaps she would have gone further had the DEA not arrested her son for cocaine sales to undercover officers and had him sentenced to 10 years in prison. The timing of this whole thing was highly dubious.

WikiPedia said:
Elders drew fire - and censure from the Clinton administration - when she suggested that legalizing drugs might help reduce crime and that the idea should be studied. On December 15, 1993, around one week after making these comments, charges were filed against her son Kevin, for selling cocaine in an incident involving undercover officers, four months prior. Elders believes the incident was a frame-up and the timing of the charges was designed to embarrass her and the president.[4] Kevin Elders was convicted, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.[5] He appealed his conviction to the Arkansas Supreme Court, and that court reaffirmed the conviction. The court held that Mr. Elders failed to show that he was entrapped into making the narcotics sale.[6] There was no further appeal.
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