Free Republic

The fight to legalize the medical use of marijuana was dealt a blow Thursday when the Food and Drug Administration contradicted an earlier review by the respected Institute of Medicine and concluded that “no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana.” This finding, based on past studies by the FDA and other government health agencies, will further muddy the already confusing messages coming from scientists, doctors and legal agencies. Eleven states have legalized the use of marijuana if prescribed by a physician for medical conditions such as relieving nausea after chemotherapy, and AIDS-related wasting. But the Supreme Court last...

WASHINGTON, April 20 — The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists. The announcement inserts the health agency into yet another fierce political fight. Susan Bro, an agency spokeswoman, said Thursday's statement resulted from a past combined review by federal drug enforcement, regulatory and research agencies that concluded "smoked marijuana has no currently accepted or proven medical use in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment."