Rochester, MN--(ENEWSPF)--March 1, 2012.  Federal officials should reclassify cannabis under federal law and permit "long-stifled research into a potential trove of (the plant's) therapeutic applications," according to review published in the February issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a peer-reviewed journal sponsored by Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The review, entitled "Blurred Boundaries: The Therapeutics and Politics of Medical Marijuana," states: "Bureaucratic hurdles not erected for other potential pharmaceuticals continue to interfere with legitimate cannabis research. The federal government instituted its 1970 ban in the absence of scientific evidence supporting its position. It maintains the ban, despite scientific evidence suggesting that cannabis could have positive effects on the many organ systems endocannabinoid activity modulates."

It concludes: "Because of this modern-day prohibition, opportunities to further study marijuana's risks and benefits and develop new pharmacotherapies are squandered. It is high time for the federal government to ... reclassify marijuana so that it has the same status as certain opiates and stimulants. ... By forcing marijuana to languish as a Schedule I drug with a 'high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use, and no accepted safety for use in medically supervised treatment,' the federal government thumbs an illogical nose at contemporary public sentiment, recent scientific discoveries, and potentially head-to-toe therapeutic breakthroughs. This reclassification would be a first step toward reconciling federal and state law and permitting long-stifled research into a potential trove of therapeutic applications to commence."

Full text of the review appears online at the Mayo Clinic Proceedings website at: http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)00021-8/fulltext. A video summary by the author appears separately at: http://www.scivee.tv/node/39225. 

Source: norml.org