Medical cannabis in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, there are important legal differences between medical cannabis at the federal and state levels. At the federal level, cannabis per se
Illegal per se
The term illegal per se means that the act is inherently illegal. Thus, an act is illegal without extrinsic proof of any surrounding circumstances such as lack of scienter or other defenses...

has been made criminal by implementation of the Controlled Substances Act

Controlled Substances Act

The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain...

but as of 2009, new federal guidelines have been enacted. According to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

Eric Holder

Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....

, "It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on
medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal." A January 2010 ABC news poll showed that 81 percent of Americans believed that medical cannabis should be legal in the United States.

Overview

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. Senator from...

makes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the sole government entity responsible for ensuring the safety and efficacy of new prescription and over-the-counter drug

Over-the-counter drug

Over-the-counter drugs are medicines that may be sold directly to a consumer without a prescription from a healthcare professional, as compared to prescription drugs, which may be sold only to consumers possessing a valid prescription...

s, overseeing the labeling and marketing of drugs, and regulating the manufacturing and packaging of drugs. The FDA defines a drug as safe and effective for a specific indication if the clinical benefits to the patient are felt to outweigh any health risks the drug might pose. The FDA and comparable authorities in Western Europe including the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, have not approved smoked cannabis (some because of the problems related to smoking per se) for any condition or disease. Cannabis remains illegal throughout the United States and is not approved for prescription as medicine, although 16 states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington - as well as the District of Columbia approve and regulate its medical use. The Federal government continues to enforce its prohibition in these states. However, there is also one state, Maryland, whose drug laws are favorable towards the medicinal use of cannabis, making it a non-incarcerable offense with a maximum penalty of a $100 fine, but which still explicitly bans it. Most recently, in the 2010 election Arizona passed a referendum permitting the use of cannabis for medical purposes, and on May 13, 2011, Delaware became the 16th state to legalize medical cannabis after Governor Jack Markell signed medical marijuana legislation into law.

Potential health benefits aside, cannabis remains a U.S. federally controlled substance

Controlled substance

A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use are regulated by a government. This may include illegal drugs and prescription medications ....

, making possession and distribution illegal. It has been estimated that an average marijuana clinic distributes a pound of cannabis per day, making acquisition a critical challenge. This acquisition may have to resort to more traditionally crime-associated, black-market sources, contributing to crime in communities. This point was illustrated in early 2007, with the murder of Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

area medical cannabis activist Ken Gorman

Ken Gorman

Ken Gorman was a marijuana activist who was shot and killed in his home on February 17, 2007 in Colorado. He ran for Colorado state governor as a write-in candidate and supported pro-legalization candidates, particularly Libertarian candidate Ralph Shnelvar in the 1990s.- Biography :Gorman...

.

Researchers face similar challenges in obtaining medical cannabis for research trial. Recently, the FDA has approved a number of cannabis research clinical trials, but the Drug Enforcement Agency has not granted licenses to the researchers in these studies.
Cannabis was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia

United States Pharmacopeia

The United States Pharmacopeia is the official pharmacopeia of the United States, published dually with the National Formulary as the USP-NF. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention is the nonprofit organization that owns the trademark and copyright to the USP-NF and publishes it every year...

from 1850 until 1942. The United States Federal government does not currently recognize any legitimate medical use, although there are currently five patients receiving cannabis for their various illnesses through the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program

Compassionate Investigational New Drug program

The Compassionate Investigational New Drug program, or Compassionate IND, is a United States Federal Government-ran Investigational New Drug program that allows a limited number of patients to use medical marijuana grown at the University of Mississippi. It is administered by the National...

that was closed to new patients in 1991 by the George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

administration. Francis L. Young, an administrative law judge with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, in 1988, declared that "in its natural form, [cannabis] is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known." Fifteen U.S. state laws, as well as the District of Columbia, currently allow for the medicinal use of cannabis, but the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Federal government has the right to regulate and criminalize cannabis also in these states, even for medical purposes.

The term "medical marijuana" post-dates the U.S. Marijuana Tax Act

1937 Marijuana Tax Act

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Pub. 238, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 551 was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Act is now commonly referred to using...

of 1937, enacted by the Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

administration, the effect of which made cannabis prescriptions illegal in the United States.

Since the creation of the DEA, the agency has spent over 100 Billion dollars trying stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. States that have legalized marijuana have seen an increase in revenue though taxation. For example in 2008, the state of Hawaii made over 10 million dollars through taxation of medical marijuana.

In many states that have medical marijuana laws, there has been an increase in crime around marijuana dispensaries. In most cases the number of muggings has gone up and that police encounter an increased number of drug dealers. Opponents of medical marijuana have attempted to use this against future legalization efforts, claiming that there is a correlation between drug use and crime. However, most of this criminal behavior is a result of the culture surrounding marijuana and people looking to use the substance for non-medical reasons.

Comparisons to alcohol prohibition

In an essay entitled Physicians Are Not Bootleggers, bioethicist

Bioethics

Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....

Jacob Appel

Jacob M. Appel

Jacob M. Appel is an American author, bioethicist and social critic. He is best known for his short stories, his work as a playwright, and his writing in the fields of reproductive ethics, organ donation, neuroethics and euthanasia....

compared the medicinal cannabis movement to the medicinal alcohol movement that took place during the Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

era of the 1920s in the United States. Just as modern physicians who want the right to prescribe cannabis may or may not support its legalization for use without a prescription, the essay notes that physicians in the 1920s who wanted the right to prescribe alcohol were not uniformly in favor of repealing Prohibition

Prohibition

. They were united instead by their opposition to what they saw as unwarranted governmental interference in the practice of medicine.

Alaska

The medical use of cannabis was endorsed by 58% of voters in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

in November 1998 and the law became effective on March 4, 1999. The law legalizes the possession, cultivation and use of cannabis for patients who have received a certificate from a doctor confirming they can benefit from the medical use of cannabis. The conditions and symptoms eligible are: cachexia, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy and other conditions characterized by spasms, chronic glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, multiple sclerosis and nausea. The state maintains a confidential list of patients who are assigned an identity card.

Arizona

Arizona's proposition 203, also called "Arizona Medical Marijuana Act", was a measure to legalize the use of medical cannabis and appeared on the general election ballot via a citizen petition. The initiative will allow patients with a "debilitating medical condition" to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks with a doctor's recommendation. They will also be able to cultivate no more than twelve cannabis plants only if they do not live within twenty-five miles of a state licensed dispensary. Arizona has allocated the licensing of dispensaries at a ratio of one per ten pharmacies in the state, or a total of 124. The outcome of Prop. 203 was not announced until Sunday, November 14, 2010 when it passed by 4,300 votes.
Information about medical marijuana law in Arizona is available at www.azmarijuana.com.

California

Information about medical cannabis in the state of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

can be found here: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/MMP/. In 1996 California voted Proposition 215

California Proposition 215 (1996)

Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, is a California law concerning the use of medical cannabis. It was enacted, on November 5, 1996, by means of the initiative process, and passed with 5,382,915 votes in favor and 4,301,960 against.The proposition was a state-wide voter...

, also called the Compassionate Use Act, into law. CA Senate Bill 420

CA Senate Bill 420

California Senate Bill 420 was a bill introduced by John Vasconcellos of the California State Senate, and subsequently passed by the California State Legislature and signed by Governor Gray Davis in 2003 "pursuant to the powers reserved to the State of California and its people under the Tenth...

was passed in 2003 to clarify Proposition 215 by specifying statewide minimum limits on possession of cannabis and enact a Statewide Medical Cannabis ID Card Program (the G214 card). As of January 16, 2008, only 36 of 58 counties are issuing cards in the program, with 18,847 cards having been issued,
however, participation in the ID Card program is optional and the identification card is not required to claim the Act's protections.

On November 5, 1996 56% of voters approved Proposition 215. The law removes state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession, and cultivation of cannabis by patients who possess a "written or oral recommendation" from their physician that he/she "would benefit from medical cannabis." Patients diagnosed with any illness where the medical use of cannabis has been "deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician" are provided with legal protection under this act. Conditions typically covered by the law include: arthritis; cachexia; cancer; chronic pain; HIV or AIDS; epilepsy; migraine; and multiple sclerosis, with other less debilitating conditions like insomnia, reduced appetite, anxiety, and PTSD often treated also. No regulations regarding the amount of cannabis patients may possess and/or cultivate were provided by this act, though the California Legislature adopted guidelines in 2003.

"Across California there are an estimated 2,100 dispensaries, co-operatives, wellness clinics, and taxi delivery services in the sector known as “cannabusiness”. That is more than all the Starbucks, McDonald’s, and 7-Eleven outlets in the state put together."

Colorado

On November 7, 2000, 54% of Colorado voters passed Amendment 20, which amends the Colorado State constitution to allow the medical use of cannabis. Patients can possess no more than 2 oz. (almost 57 g) of "usable cannabis" and not more than 6 cannabis plants, and they may neither take their medicine in public, nor even on their own property, if the public can see them taking it.

In November 2009, in Breckenridge, Colorado

Breckenridge, Colorado

Established in 1859, the historic town of Breckenridge is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Summit County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the town had a population of 4,540. The town also has many part-time residents, as many people have vacation homes in the area...

, 70% of voters elected to amend the town code to remove all criminal and civil penalties, including fines, on the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. More than 70% of local voters had voted yes on a similar, but unsuccessful, statewide measure in 2005.

In December of 2010, CNBC aired a one hour special titled Marijuana USA that focused on the tremendous growth of the legal cannabis trade in Colorado as marijuana emerges from the black market to the mainstream market. Additional information about medical cannabis in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

can be found here:.

Delaware

On May 13, 2011, Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

became the 16th state to legalize medical cannabis after Governor Jack Markell signed the bill. The bill has passed the state senate on May 11 by a 17-4 vote. Patients who certify they have a serious medical condition are allowed to possess up to six ounces, or 170 grams, of cannabis. State-licensed centers are allowed to grow the marijuana and dispense it to patients 18 and older. Information about medical marijuana law in Delaware is available at www.delawarechronic.com.

Hawaii

In Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, Senate Bill 862 became law on June 14, 2000. Patients can possess a maximum of 3 ounces (84g) of usable cannabis and a maximum of 8 cannabis plants. Information about medical cannabis in Hawaii is available at: http://www.dpfhi.org/.

Iowa

Iowa law gives control of marijuana policy to the Iowa Pharmacy Board and not to elected law makers. On November 2, 2010, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy declared marijuana to be a schedule two drug. What that classification means is that marijuana is a drug with potential benefits, but a high risk of misuse. The Iowa Board of Pharmacy refused to create any set of rules or regulations regarding medical marijuana usage, claiming that it should be elected Iowa officials that handle such issues. There is currently no medical marijuana system set up in Iowa, but the Iowa Board of Pharmacy retains the power to create it if they so desired.

Maine

On November 2, 1999, 62% of voters in Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

passed Question 2. Patients or their primary physicians could possess a maximum of 1 1/4 ounces (35 g) of usable cannabis and a maximum of 6 plants. The law was amended when Maine Senate Bill 611 was signed into law on April 2, 2002, increasing the maximum quantity of usable cannabis a patient is allowed to possess to 2 1/2 ounces. Information about medical cannabis in Maine is available at www.mainecommonsense.org.

November 2009 Maine voters approved Question 5, the Maine Marijuana Medical Act. The measure amends existing state law by: establishing a confidential patient registry, expanding the list of qualifying conditions for which a physician may recommend medicinal cannabis, and by allowing for the creation of non-profit state-licensed dispensaries to assist in the distribution of medical cannabis to qualified patients.

Maryland

The legislature of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

passed a "medical marijuana affirmative defense law" in the year 2003, and amended it May 10th 2011. If someone is being prosecuted by the state for certain marijuana related crimes, then the court is required by law to consider a defendant's "medical necessity." If medical necessity is proven, possession up to one ounce carries no penalty - higher possession and cultivation may then only be fined $100.

Michigan

On November 4, 2008, Michigan voters passed a measure allowing the use of medicinal cannabis for patients with debilitating medical conditions (including cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

, multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...

and HIV

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

). The measure also required Michigan's health department to create a registry of qualified patients. Growing cannabis was also approved, for registered individuals using secure facilities.
The mandate also introduced a medical necessity defense clause for persons without a card or who use cannabis to treat ailments not covered by the law.

Montana

On November 2, 2004, voters of Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

passed Initiative 148, which took effect immediately. It eliminated criminal sanctions for medical cannabis authorized by a patient's physician. Possession of as many as six cannabis plants is allowed. More information on medical cannabis in Montana is available here:.

Nevada

On November 7, 2000 voters in Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

passed Question 9, amending the state constitution to sanction medical cannabis. The law provides that patients may possess a maximum of 1 ounce (28 g) of usable cannabis and grow a maximum of 7 cannabis plants.

New Jersey

On January 11, 2010, the New Jersey legislature approved a measure legalizing medical cannabis for patients with severe chronic illnesses, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Governor Corzine signed the bill into law on January 18.

New Mexico

On April 2, 2007 the governor of New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

approved Senate Bill 523, which legalizes medical cannabis for patients authorized by the state. More information can be found at: http://www.nmhealth.org.

Oregon

Information about medical cannabis in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

can be found here: The Oregon medical cannabis program has the name, "The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program," which administers the Medical Marijuana Act approved there by the public in November 1998 through Oregon Ballot Measure 67 (1998)

Oregon Ballot Measure 67 (1998)

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, a law in the U.S. state of Oregon, was established by Oregon Ballot Measure 67 in 1998, passing with 54.6% support. It modified state law to allow the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana by prescription by patients with certain medical conditions...

. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program administers the program within the Oregon Department of Human Services. Virtually all patients benefiting from the program suffer from severe pain and almost 2500 from nausea. The other conditions are given as epilepsy, AIDS / HIV, cancer, cachexia, chronic glaucoma and tremors caused by Alzheimer's disease.
As of July 1, 2011, there were 49,220 registered patients with medical cannabis cards with another 4,581 applications (including renewals) pending.

Rhode Island

On January 3, 2006, The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act (Rhode Island) became law and simultaneously went into effect. It legalizes medical cannabis, provided that certain conditions are met. Patients can possess a maximum of 2.5 ounces of cannabis and a maximum of 12 cannabis plants.

On June 16, 2009, the Rhode Island legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto of a bill authorizing up to three medical cannabis dispensaries in the state. The House voted 68-0 for the cannabis measure and the senate followed minutes later by a 35-3 count. The new law will make Rhode Island the third state, following New Mexico and California, to allow the sale of medical cannabis. Under the new law, one dispensary will be authorized to open in 2010, to be followed by two more in 2011.

In 2011 RI Governor Chafee announced that he was putting a hold on the licenses that were to be issued to the 3 Compassion Centers and as of December 2011 there are still no operating dispensaries in Rhode Island. (reference: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2011/09/27/Rhode-Island-Medical-Marijuana-Supporters-Rally-Governor-Open-Dispensaries)

More information is available at: Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition and.

Vermont

In Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, Senate Bill 76 went into effect July 1, 2004, legalizing medical cannabis, provided certain conditions are met.
Patients or their primary doctor are allowed to possess a maximum of 2 ounces of usable cannabis and a maximum of 3 cannabis plants, a maximum of which one can be mature.

Amendments

Vermont Senate Bill 7 went into effect July 1, 2007 further defining which patients qualify for medical cannabis and how much they may possess without penalty of law at the state level. The amendment allows physicians licensed outside of Vermont to recommend medical cannabis for Vermont patients.

More information about medical cannabis in Vermont is available here:.

Washington

The State of Washington adopted a law in November 1998 (Initiative 692), legalizing the use, possession, and cultivation of cannabis for patients with a medical certificate. The legislature amended the statute in 2007 and 2010. After June 10, 2010, the medical documentation may be issued by a physician, physician's assistant, naturopath, or advanced registered nurse practitioner; it must be on tamper-resistant paper and accompanied by photo ID. The following conditions are eligible: cachexia

Cachexia

Cachexia or wasting syndrome is loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and significant loss of appetite in someone who is not actively trying to lose weight...

, cancer, HIV or AIDS, epilepsy or other seizure disorders, glaucoma unrelieved by standard drugs or treatments, chronic pain otherwise intractable, Crohn's disease with intractable symptoms, Hepatitis C with intractable nausea or pain, and multiple sclerosis. According to the law in Washington, a qualified patient and the patient's designated provider may together possess not more than a 60-day supply; it is presumed in regulation that this will be not more than 24 ounces of usable marijuana and not more than 15 marijuana plants.

Washington DC

A bill by the DC council was not overruled by Congress. Medical cannabis became legal on Jan. 1, 2011.

Notable pro-medical cannabis individuals

Supporters of legalizing cannabis for medical use range from actors and musicians to politicians, writers, and scientists. Major activists include Steve Kubby

Steve Kubby

Steven "Steve" Wynn Kubby is a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana which was approved by voters in 1996. Kubby himself is well-known as a cancer patient who...

, Ethan Nadelmann

Ethan Nadelmann

Ethan Nadelmann is the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York City-based non-profit organization working to end the War on Drugs. Described by Rolling Stone as, "the point man for drug-policy-reform efforts," Ethan Nadelmann is known as a high profile critic and...

, Dennis Peron

Dennis Peron

Dennis Peron is an openly gay American medical marijuana and LGBT activist and businessman who was the figurehead for the legality of cannabis throughout the 1990s influencing many in California and thus changing the political debate of marijuana in the United States...

, Angel Raich, Robert Randall

Robert Randall (advocate)

Robert Randall was an advocate for medical marijuana and the founder of Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics. He was also the first legal medical marijuana smoker in the United States. He documented his accounts in his book, co-written with wife Alice O'Leary: Marijuana Rx: The Patients Fight for...

, Keith Stroup

Keith Stroup

Keith Stroup is an attorney and founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1965, he enrolled in Georgetown Law School and worked in the office of Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen...

, and Marc Emery

Marc Emery

Marc Scott Emery is a Canadian cannabis policy reform advocate, as well as a former cannabis seed seller. He is currently serving a five year sentence in a United States federal prison for selling cannabis seeds....

.

Politicians from multiple parties support medicinal cannabis use Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

members of Congress

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

Barney Frank

Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...

, Dennis Kucinich

Dennis Kucinich

Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....

, Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Stephen Ira Cohen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennessee's 9th district includes almost three-fourths of Memphis. Cohen is Tennessee's first Jewish congressman....

, and Sam Farr

Sam Farr

Samuel S. "Sam" Farr is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to Congress in a 1993 special election when longtime Democratic Rep...

, Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

Congress members Ron Paul

Ron Paul

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

and Dana Rohrabacher

Dana Rohrabacher

Dana Tyron Rohrabacher is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 45th and 42nd, serving since 1989. He is a member of the Republican Party...

, Republican State Senator Bill Mescher

Bill Mescher

William C. "Bill" Mescher was a Republican politician from South Carolina. He was born in Belknap, Illinois. Mescher served in South Carolina Senate, representing Berkeley County, SC, from 1993 until his death in 2007....

, and Libertarian Loretta Nall

Loretta Nall

Loretta Nall is the founder of the United States Marijuana Party which calls for the legalization of cannabis. She was a write-in candidate for governor of Alabama in 2006....

.

Researchers and scientist advocates include Jay Cavanaugh

Jay Cavanaugh

When considering the witches brew of concoctions the drug companies want to pour down my throat and into my veins I say a resounding "Just Say No". - Dr. Jay Cavanaugh, Overgrow forums, March 11, 2003....

, Lyle Craker

Lyle Craker

Lyle E. Craker is a Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences at the University of Massachusetts. Since 2005, Craker has been trying to obtain a permit from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to grow marijuana for research purposes.-Education:In 1963, Craker...

, Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...

, Stephen Jay Gould

Stephen Jay Gould

Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....

, Lester Grinspoon

Lester Grinspoon

Dr. Lester Grinspoon is Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Grinspoon was senior psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston for 40 years. Dr. Grinspoon is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American...

, Bob Melamede, and Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan

Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...

.

Writers, such as William F. Buckley, Fred Gardner, Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...

, Jack Herer

Jack Herer

Jack Herer was an American cannabis activist and the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, a book which has been used in efforts to decriminalize cannabis.-Biography:...

, Peter McWilliams

Peter McWilliams

Peter Alexander McWilliams was a writer and self-publisher of best-selling self-help books. He was an advocate for those suffering from depression. And, in his later years, he was a cannabis activist. Terminally ill with AIDS and cancer, he became a vocal campaigner for the legalization of medical...

, Salman Rushdie, Ann Druyan

Ann Druyan

Ann Druyan is an American author and producer specializing in productions about cosmology and popular science. She made substantial contributions to the PBS documentary series, Cosmos, and was the wife of late scientist and educator, Carl Sagan.-Film career:Along with Carl Sagan and Steven Soter,...

, Ed Rosenthal

Ed Rosenthal

Ed Rosenthal is a California horticulturist, author, publisher, and Cannabis grower known for his advocacy for the legalization of marijuana use. He served as a columnist for High Times Magazine during the 80's and 90's...

, Rick Steves

Rick Steves

Richard "Rick" Steves is an American author and television personality focusing on European travel. He is the host of the American Public Television series Rick Steves' Europe, has a public radio travel show, Travel with Rick Steves, and has authored various location-specific travel...

, Samuel Thompson, and Robert Anton Wilson

Robert Anton Wilson

Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...

also support the legalization of medical cannabis.

Musician Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...

supports medical cannabis.
On September 25, 2009 on the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, Former Governor of New York Elliot Spitzer expressed support for the legalization of medical cannabis.

The 2007 documentary film "Waiting to Inhale" by award winning filmmaker Jed Riffe

Jed Riffe

Jed Riffe is an award winning filmmaker and founder of Jed Riffe Films + Electronic Media. For over 25 years his documentary films have focused on social issues including: Native American histories and struggles and agriculture, food and sustainability issues...

, examines the debate over medical cannabis and has been a screened in states during medical cannabis campaigns.

In 2011 the Marijuana Policy Project

Marijuana Policy Project

The Marijuana Policy Project, or MPP, is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff...

called on the government to allow the FDA-approved study of veterans. The California Medical Association

California Medical Association

The California Medical Association is a professional organization representing more than 35,000 physicians in the state of California. The organization was founded in 1856 and is a member of the American Medical Association.-Audio-Digest Foundation:...

called for legalization of marijuana on October 15, 2011, stating to the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

that the question of whether marijuana is a medicine "can only be answered once it is legalized and more research is done".

Notable anti-medical cannabis individuals

Politicians that oppose the medicinal use of cannabis include former Drug Czars Andrea Barthwell

Andrea Barthwell

Andrea Grubb Barthwell, M.D., worked in the White House under President of the United States George W. Bush as Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy....

, William Bennett

William Bennett

William John "Bill" Bennett is an American conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist. He served as United States Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. He also held the post of Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W...

, Barry McCaffrey

Barry McCaffrey

Barry Richard McCaffrey is a retired United States Army general, former U.S. Drug Czar, news commentator, and business consultant....

, and John P. Walters

John P. Walters

John P. Walters is the former Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy . He held that position from December 7, 2001 to January 20, 2009. As the nation's "Drug Czar," Mr...

, former U.S. Presidents

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

George H. W. Bush

, Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

and George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

, congressmen Theodore Sophocleus and Mark Souder

Mark Souder

Mark Edward Souder is an American Republican politician who was a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1995 to 2010.During the 1980s and early 1990s, he worked as a congressional aide to Dan Coats and committee staff director. He was elected to his congressional seat in 1994...

; former governor Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee

Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...

and former governor Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney

Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...

.

Attorneys General Michael Mukasey, Janet Reno

Janet Reno

Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...

, and Dan Lungren

Dan Lungren

Daniel Edward "Dan" Lungren is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. The district covers most of Sacramento County and part of Solano County, as well as all of Alpine, Amador and Calaveras counties...

also prefer cannabis to be illegal, as well as former U.S. Prosecutors

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

Bonnie Dumanis

Bonnie M. Dumanis is currently the District Attorney of San Diego County. Dumanis has been the District Attorney since 2003, when she defeated incumbent Paul Pfingst. Dumanis is currently running for Mayor of San Diego.Dumanis, a Republican, is the first openly gay or lesbian DA in the country...

, Carol Lam

Carol Lam

Carol Chien-Hua Lam is a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. Lam was sworn into office on an interim basis on September 4, 2002. On November 12, 2002, Lam was further sworn in as a Senate confirmed Presidential appointee. She oversaw the Rep. Randy "Duke"...

, and Asa Hutchinson

Asa Hutchinson

William Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...

, former Surgeon General

Surgeon General of the United States

The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...

Richard Carmona

Richard Henry Carmona is an American physician, public health administrator, and politician. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the seventeenth Surgeon General of the United States. Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, Carmona left office...

, former Solicitor General Paul Clement

Paul Clement

Paul Drew Clement is a former United States Solicitor General and current Georgetown University legal professor. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law. He was nominated by President George W...

, International Narcotics Control Board

International Narcotics Control Board

The International Narcotics Control Board is the independent and quasi-judicial control organ for the implementation of the United Nations drug conventions...

president Hamid Ghodse

Hamid Ghodse

Hamid Ghodse, CBE is the Director of the International Centre for Drug Policy at St. George’s University of London,, a Non-Executive Director of the UK National Patient Safety Agency , and President of the UN International Narcotics Control Board...

, Republican Senior Senator John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

, and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, concerned with health matters. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet...

Donna Shalala

Donna Edna Shalala served for eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton and has been president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2001. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest...

. Conservative talk show hosts, such as Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

and Hal Lindsey

Hal Lindsey

Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas.-Biography:...

, also oppose the use of medical cannabis.

External links

Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research
Michigan Medical Marijuana Law Information (MCLA §333.26424)
Bibliography: Cannabis canadensis Advances in the History of Psychology York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
Montel Williams show "Marijuana, Illegal Drug or Medical Treatment" (video)
The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (video)

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Overview

Comparisons to alcohol prohibition

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Delaware

Hawaii

Iowa

Maine

Maryland

Michigan

Montana

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

Oregon

Rhode Island

Vermont

Amendments

Washington

Washington DC

Notable pro-medical cannabis individuals

Notable anti-medical cannabis individuals

See also

External links