Biomaterial Database

The current status of medical marijuana in the United States. 2014

Gerald J McKenna

McKenna Recovery Center, Ke Ala Pono - Kaua'i, Lihue, HI.

Medical marijuana is currently a controversial issue in medicine. There are strong pro and con opinions but relatively little scientific data on which to base medical decisions. The unfortunate scheduling of marijuana in class I has limited research and only serves to fuel the controversy. This article will review the history of laws to regulate drugs in the United States in the 20th century to provide context for the current status of medical marijuana. It will include the rationale for opposing medical marijuana laws and the problem of the Schedule I inclusion of marijuana as well as other drugs. It will examine the problems associated with smoking raw marijuana and review other routes of administration. Finally, it examines the inadvisability of medicine's promotion of smoked marijuana.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D004335	Drug and Narcotic Control	Control of drug and narcotic use by international agreement, or by institutional systems for handling prescribed drugs. This includes regulations concerned with the manufacturing, dispensing, approval (DRUG APPROVAL), and marketing of drugs.	Drug Regulations,Narcotic Control,Pharmaceutical Policy,Drug Control,Narcotic and Drug Control,Pharmaceutic Policy,Control, Drug,Control, Narcotic,Controls, Drug,Controls, Narcotic,Drug Controls,Drug Regulation,Narcotic Controls,Pharmaceutical Policies,Policies, Pharmaceutical,Policy, Pharmaceutical,Regulation, Drug,Regulations, Drug
D014481	United States	A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D047829	Vietnam Conflict	A conflict occurring from 1954 through 1975 within the Republic of Vietnam. It involved neighboring nations and the United States and other members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.	Viet Nam Conflict,Second Indochina War,Viet Nam War,Vietnamese Conflict,Conflict, Viet Nam,Conflict, Vietnam,Conflict, Vietnamese,Conflicts, Vietnamese,Indochina War, Second,Indochina Wars, Second,Vietnamese Conflicts,War, Second Indochina,War, Viet Nam,Wars, Second Indochina,Wars, Viet Nam
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History
D064086	Medical Marijuana	Product of the CANNABIS plant, CANNABINOIDS, or synthetic derivatives thereof, used in the treatment of a wide range of clinical symptoms.	Marijuana Dispensaries,Marijuana Treatment,Medical Cannabis,Medicinal Cannabis,Medicinal Marijuana,Cannabis, Medical,Cannabis, Medicinal,Dispensaries, Marijuana,Marijuana, Medical,Marijuana, Medicinal,Treatment, Marijuana