March 18, 1999. Copyright 1999. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Marijuana report sparks debate

LONDON, March 18, Graphic News: PRESSURE is likely to build on the United States Congress to allow cannabis to be used for medical purposes, following the publication of a government-commissioned report backing such treatment. 

The Institute of Medicine Ð an advisory panel to the U.S. government Ð also said there was no conclusive evidence that marijuana use leads to harder drugs.

The report concluded that for some seriously-ill people, the benefits of cannabis  outweigh its disadvantages. The active ingredients in marijuana can help fight pain and nausea and thus deserve to be tested in scientific trials.

But the panel warned that smoking marijuana can cause respiratory disease and called for the development of standardized forms of the drugs Ð called cannabinoids Ð that can be taken, for example, by inhaler.

Asked to examine the issue by the White House drug policy office, the institute said that because cannabinoids in marijuana ease anxiety, stimulate the appetite, ease pain and reduce nausea and vomiting, they can be helpful for people undergoing chemotherapy and people with AIDS. 

The Clinton administrationÕs anti-drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, has responded by calling for more research on cannabis Ð which has long been one of the USÕs most demonised drugs.

Congress has previously taken a hard line on the issue, and voted by 310 to 93 against legalising it for medical use last autumn. 

Opponents of the medical use of cannabis say it starts people on the road to more dangerous drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

The institute, an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences, provides the federal government with independent scientific advice and receives no federal money.
/ENDS
Sources: Associated Press, UPI, BBC World Service