Preview For Volume 7 Number 1: Is There Medical and Moral Justification for the Use of Medical Marijuana?

In 2013, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta reported that he had changed his mind on marijuana since his 2009 Time Magazine article - "Why I would Vote No on Pot." Gupta writes:

I apologize because I didn't look hard enough, until now. I didn't look far enough. I didn't review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis.

Why did he change his mind? He argued that the Drug Enforcement Administration's classification of Schedule I, which carries with it a high potential for abuse, was not based on solid scientific evidence.  Further, he believed that the benefits of Medical Marijuana (hereafter referred to as MMJ) had been understudied and that cases like Charlotte Figi whose seizures went from 300 a week to 2-3 per month was sufficient to swing his opinion for a favorable one (Gupta).  Was Sanjay right?  Is there sufficient evidence to support its medical and moral use?  This article will seek to address that question.

Other Topics discussed in this article:

"Marijuana's Presence in the United States"
"Examining the Safety and Efficacy of Medical Marijuana"
"Can Medical Marijuana be Used in Good Conscience?"

-Daniel Stearsman

 Daniel Stearsman received the M.A in Bioethics and Medical Humanities from the University of South Florida, and Pharm.D. from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.