Health Issues
Articles about the medical benefits and detriments of marijuana
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Medical Marijuana
Marijuana prohibition applies to everyone, including the sick and dying. Of all the negative consequences of prohibition, none is as tragic as the denial of medicinal cannabis to the tens of thousands of patients who could benefit from its therapeutic use.
Endorsements
The following list is a sampling of the various health and scientific organizations that back patient access to medical marijuana. Though it is not meant to be comprehensive, it is intended to provide a cross-section of the medical community's broad support for medical cannabis, and present a referenced, fact-based response to those who claim otherwise. As the medical cannabis issue continues to stimulate political debate, reformers and legislators need to consider the positions of the medical community to better make informed policy decisions regarding the medical use of marijuana.
Studies
Marijuana's therapeutic uses are well-documented in modern scientific literature. The studies indicate that marijuana provides symptomatic relief for a number of medical conditions, including nausea and vomiting, stimulating appetite, promoting weight gain, and diminishing intraocular pressure from glaucoma. There is also evidence that smoked marijuana and/or THC reduces muscle spasticity from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, and diminishes tremors in multiple sclerosis patients. Patients and physicians have also reported that smoked marijuana provides relief from migraine headaches, depression, seizures, insomnia and chronic pain, among other conditions.
Updates
Recent Additions
According to new poll, majority of Americans support marijuana legalization
December 10th, 2009 By: Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator
53% support for marijuana legalization! This...
Will Foster is Free! He Walked Out of Prison in Oklahoma Today
November 25th, 2009 By: Phillip Smith, Chronicle Blog
Medical marijuana patient Will Foster is a free man. According to a phone call I just received from his partner, Susan Mueller, Foster was released...
Recommendation of Release by Will Foster's Judge
November 12th, 2009 By: Garret Overstreet, Tulsa NORML
The judge in Will Foster's case recommended Wednesday that Will Foster be released and not sent back to prison. This came as a surprise Wednesday...
BREAKING NEWS: California Lawmakers To Debate Marijuana Legalization Tomorrow!
October 27th, 2009: By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
California state lawmakers arescheduled to hear testimony tomorrow in support of taxing and regulating the commercial production and distribution of marijuana for adults age 21 and...
Four Prohibition Pragmatists And A Drug War Whore
October 25th, 2009: By Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director
A quick review from this week's avalanche of cannabis-related news, comes a stark contrast that reveals: Four Prohibition Pragmatists And A Drug War Whore
Prohibition Pragmaticism
Wisconsin - When...
