Members of the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to adopt a measure this week expressing support for expunging prior marijuana records in states that have legalized cannabis.<\/p>\n
The organization\u2019s House of Delegates\u2014which maintains an overarching policy opposing legalization\u2014also approved separate resolutions addressing the \u201cover-medicalization\u201d of cannabis and criticizing the marketing of CBD products. A fourth resolution calling for allocation of federal resources to tackle \u201ccannabis dependence,\u201d which would be funded by a tax on marijuana businesses, was set aside.<\/p>\n
\u201cFundamental fairness and equity principles argue that individuals with an arrest or conviction for cannabis-related offenses\u2014that occurred before legalization that would make such action legal\u2014should not suffer further legal or public health adverse effects,\u201d the expungements report adopted by the group says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, the net social benefits to expungement should not be used to set aside or minimize the health risks associated with cannabis use\u2014particularly for youth and adolescents,\u201d it continues. \u201cEven when states take action to positively address legal inequities and support social determinants of health, there remain significant adverse health effects of cannabis use for youth and adolescents.\u201d<\/p>\n
AMA, which worked to overturn a voter-approved a Mississippi cannabis reform initiative<\/a>, has previously published research\u00a0in its own own scientific journal<\/a> indicating that legalization doesn\u2019t lead to increased youth use.<\/p>\n In any case, a related resolution that members discussed at their annual meeting says there\u2019s a \u201cclear link between incarceration and health, with incarcerated individuals showing higher risk of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and cancer compared to the general population.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cArrests for marijuana possession, regardless of whether the person was later convicted on these charges, have been shown to negatively impact opportunities such as finding employment, housing, and obtaining student loans, which can lead to widespread and multifactorial individual health consequences; furthermore, criminalization of drug use is associated with increased stigma and discrimination of drug users and that stigma and discrimination is also a causal factor for decreased mental and physical health.\u201d<\/p>\n Therefore, the organization\u2019s members voted to support \u201cautomatic expungement, sealing, and similar efforts regarding an arrest or conviction for a cannabis-related offense for use or possession that would be legal or criminalized [sic] under subsequent state legalization or decriminalization of adult use or medicinal cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n The adopted measure also says the group backs \u201cending conditions such as parole, probation, or other court-required supervision because of a cannabis-related offense for use or possession that would be legal or decriminalized under subsequent state legalization or decriminalization of adult use or medicinal cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n AMA Trustee Scott Ferguson reiterated<\/a> said in a press release that cannabis arrests have led to a loss of job opportunities in the field of medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt simply isn\u2019t fair to ruin a life based on actions that result in convictions but are subsequently legalized or decriminalized,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The association\u2019s delegates also approved two other cannabis resolutions<\/a> at the meeting.<\/p>\n One measure encourages federal agencies to push back against the \u201cover-medicalization\u201d of marijuana at the state level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cannabis-legalization movement has swept the country\u2026 In states where medical cannabis has been legalized, marketing for cannabis for \u2018all your ills\u2019 has become excessive,\u201d it says. \u201cInadequate information about the potential dangers\/harms of cannabis (especially among vulnerable populations) is available, especially amid the storm of pro-cannabis marketing from that industry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis results in the lay public considering cannabis to be as safe as Tylenol, or carrots,\u201d the measure says.<\/p>\n To that end, it says AMA will write a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) \u201crequesting more direct oversight of the marketing of cannabis for medical use\u201d as well as a template letter that state medical societies can use to push for \u201cmore direct oversight by state government of the marketing of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n It additionally directs AMA to \u201cstudy marketing practices of cannabis, cannabis products and cannabis paraphernalia that influence vulnerable populations, such as children or pregnant people.\u201d<\/p>\n Another measure adopted by the AMA delegates takes aim at CBD, which has become widely available across the U.S. following the federal legalization of hemp and its derivatives, so long as products don\u2019t exceed 0.3 percent THC by dry weight.<\/p>\n \u201cCBD oil is often marketed in ways that falsely imply medical doctor approval, verification or endorsement,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n The resolution supports \u201cbanning the advertising of cannabidiol (CBD) as a component of marijuana in places that children frequent\u201d and also \u201clegislation and regulatory actions at the federal and state level to prohibit companies from selling CBD products if they make any unproven health and therapeutic claims.\u201d<\/p>\n An additional measure as drafted called on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide research funding for the treatment of marijuana use disorders. Notably, it also said that money for the grants should be \u201cfinanced by taxes on those who profit from selling cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s unclear how a federal tax on marijuana sales would be achieved without ending the ongoing prohibition policy that AMA continues to support.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no effective medication for treating dependence on cannabis. It is well known the use of cannabis can lead to addiction,\u201d the AMA measure, which was set aside so that existing AMA policy could be reaffirmed, said. Therefore, NIH should appropriate grants to \u201cuniversities, pharmaceutical companies and other capable entities to develop treatment options for cannabis dependence.\u201d<\/p>\n Another major U.S. medical group\u2014the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)\u2014separately shifted its cannabis policy<\/a> in 2020, adopting a platform in favor of protecting people who use cannabis in compliance with state laws from being punished by the federal government. It\u2019s also backed expungements and the rescheduling of medical marijuana.<\/p>\n Teen Marijuana Use Dropped Dramatically In Colorado In 2021, State Study Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post American Medical Association Approves Marijuana Expungements Resolution And Addresses \u2018Over-Medicalization\u2019 Of Cannabis<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Members of the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to adopt a measure this week expressing support for expunging prior marijuana records in states that have legalized cannabis. The organization\u2019s House of Delegates\u2014which maintains an overarching policy opposing legalization\u2014also approved separate resolutions addressing the \u201cover-medicalization\u201d of cannabis and criticizing the marketingContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55306,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55305\/revisions\/55306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: American Medical Association Approves Marijuana Expungements Resolution And Addresses \u2018Over-Medicalization\u2019 Of Cannabis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"