The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that is opposes the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
In a statement, the FDA announced that is has 'concluded 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.'
Although several states have permitted the use of small amounts of marijuana for medical purposes, the FDA said, '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.'
The latest FDA statement directly contradicts the conclusions of a 1999 study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences. The Institute of Medicine found that 'marijuana's active components are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting and other symptoms, and should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.'
Critics of the government were quick to accuse the FDA of reaching the decision on political rather than medical grounds.
Bruce Mirken, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, said Thursday: 'If anybody needed proof that the FDA has become totally politicized, this is it. This isn't a scientific statement; it's a political statement.'
Mirken added, 'There is abundant evidence that marijuana can help cancer patients, multiple sclerosis patients and AIDS patients. There is no scientific doubt that marijuana relieves nausea, vomiting, certain kinds of pain and other symptoms that don't respond well to conventional drugs, and does it more safely than other drugs. For the FDA to ignore all that evidence is embarrassing. They should be red-faced.'
While some states permit the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana for medical use if a person receives a prescription, the federal government still considers any possession of the drug to be a crime.
