Medical MarijuanaMarijuana is a medicine. It has been used for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of illnesses. Marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) was legal in the United States for all purposes – industrial and recreational, as well as medicinal until 1937. Today, only eight Americans are legally allowed to use marijuana as medicine. NORML is working to restore the availability of marijuana as medicine. Medicinal Value Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. No one has ever died from an overdose. It is also extremely versatile. Four of its general therapeutic applications include: relieving nausea and increasing appetite; reduction of intraocular pressure (“inside the eye”); reduction of muscle spasms; relief of mild to moderate chronic pain. Marijuana is often helpful in treating the following conditions: Cancer: Marijuana relieves nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by chemotherapy treatment. AIDS: Marijuana relieves nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by the disease itself and by treatment with AZT and other medications. Glaucoma: Marijuana, by reducing intraocular pressure, relieves pain and slows or stops the progression of the disease. Glaucoma, which damages vision by gradually increasing eye pressure over time, is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. Multiple Sclerosis: Marijuana reduces muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease. It may also relieve tremors and gait unsteadiness and help some patients control their bladder. Multiple sclerosis is the leading cause of neurological disability among young and middle-aged adults in the United States. Epilepsy: Marijuana prevents seizures in some patients. Chronic pain: Marijuana reduces chronic, often debilitating pain caused by various injuries and disorders. One of these uses has been recognized as legitimate at least once by various courts, legislatures, governments, or scientific agencies throughout the United States. Currently, such respected organizations as the National Academy of Sciences (1982), the California Medical Association (1993), the Federation of American Scientists (1994), the Australian Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health (1994), the American Public Health Association. .... middle of document ......2618) to amend federal law to allow doctors to legally prescribe marijuana as medicine to patients. NORML testified before Congress in 1996 in support of medical marijuana. The Washington State Legislature allocated more than $100,000 in 1996 to conduct clinical studies on patients to determine the effectiveness of medical marijuana in treating serious illnesses. The appropriation also funds research into growing medical marijuana in a tamper-proof environment and explores potential ways the state can legally distribute the drug for medical purposes. Partly due to the activism of NORML members, a California initiative to legalize medical marijuana (Proposition 215) gathered enough signatures to be placed on the November 1996 ballot. In August, the San Francisco Medical Society and the California Academy of Family Physicians – which represent a combined total of nearly 10,000 doctors statewide – have endorsed the proposal. The challenge for compassionate Americans is to translate this public support into effective reform. It may not be easy to break the hold.!