Keywords: USA, AMA, Cannabinoid-based medicines, R&D, annaabais Science

AMA praised for urging USA to facilitate clinical R&D of cannabinoid-based medicines

Article | 24 November 2009

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Cannabis Science, an emerging US pharmaceutical cannabis company, is hailing the call by the American Medical Association's House of Delegates for “marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical R&D of cannabinoid-based medicines."

Richard Cowan, Cannabis Science chief financial officer, noted: “The AMA has officially joined the other medical groups in their recognition of the medical value of cannabis. Last year, the American College of Physicians also called for a reclassification of cannabis' Schedule I status. Previously, many other health organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the American Public Health Association, have called for the legal recognition of medical cannabis.”

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Under federal law, all substances in Schedule I are defined as possessing "no currently accepted use in treatment in the USA" and also having a high potential for abuse. In 1970 Congress classified marijuana, and all of the cannabinoids (even those with no psychoactive properties) as Schedule I substances upon passage of the Controlled Substances Act. This classification was supposed to be temporary, but blocking research kept it in Schedule I.

Robert Melamede, Cannabis Science’s president and chief executive, stated: “It is now clear that the AMA has embraced the plethora of peer reviewed science supporting the medical applications of the cannabis plant. Their call for the USA to facilitate ‘research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines’ is an important validation of our company’s strategy and should make it much easier for us to develop and market products that will help patients. Most people would be shocked to know that the federal government has actually been blocking research on the medical benefits of cannabis while supporting research aimed at demonstrating the negatives. Now that the AMA has embraced this modern science, and President Obama has created new Federal policies and guidelines, the federal government can no longer ignore the importance of cannabinoid-based medicines.”