Doctors' group supports medical marijuana

a national group of doctors throws its support behind medical marijuana. the american medical ass...  More »

a national group of doctors throws its support behind medical marijuana. the american medical association is calling on the government to review its strict classification of marijuana -- paving the way for further research and easier access for patients. kayla anderson talked with members of both the medical and legal-growing community about the latest developments. kayla? right now the federal government classifies marijuana as a schedule one drug. that means it's considered to have high potential for abuse and no medical benefits. it's grouped with heroin, l-s-d and p-c-p. but the american medical association says as more research becomes available-- that designation needs to be reviewed. "this is really exciting because we have the nation's largest, most conservative body of minute thumbnail 06:06 pm physicians coming out and saying marijuana is a medicine." an executive report to the american medical association shows incredible benefits from medical marijuana. so the a-m-a is calling on the government to reclassify marijuana-- to a schedule two drug. the move would pave the way for more research and easier access for patients. "i think that this is something that should be considered by the obama administration and the by fda." new mexico is one of 13 states that allows access to medical marijuana. just this week four new marijuana producers got their licenses-- bringing the total number in the state to five. "there's no question, i mean, no question that marijuana is an extremely valuable medicine for certain things and for certain patients." santa fe businessman len goodman is one of the newly licensed providers. he's started this website for his company-- called newmexicann. he's building a high tech minute thumbnail 06:07 pm greenhouse-- and expects to begin distributing his first batch of medical marijuana next february. "for some people and for some conditions, it is real medicine, and to deny them that is criminal." there's close to 800 patients statewide who use medical marijuana. but many doctors won't prescribe it-- for fear of losing their license-- since federal law, still says it's illegal. "so hopefully that's something that will be sorted out in the future so there isn't this conflict between state and federal laws." the news comes a day before the start of the international converence on drug policy reform being held here in albuquerque. about a thousand people from around the country are expected to attend. you can get more information on that conference at k- o-b-dot-com. kayla anderson, ewn4  « Less