The AMA takes some “liberal,” er, centrist positions

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

First, the American Medical Association (AMA), long the obstacle to health care reform for more than five decades, announced its support for the House Democrats health care reform bill. Now comes these equally eye opening new positions.

On Monday, the American Medical Association (AMA), in partnership with Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans and their allies, passed a resolution calling for full repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. With overwhelming support from its membership and virtually no opposition, even from the uniformed services representatives in attendance, the call for full repeal became official AMA policy upon passage of the resolution. American Medical Association Calls for Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

At issue before the AMA was the chilling effect that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has on the provider-patient relationship and the resulting impact on access to quality healthcare for many active duty troops. Military medical providers can and have been compelled to divulge personal information about patients to military commanders, resulting in the widespread perception among troops that medical confidentiality in the military is non-existent. Servicemembers United has documented cases of troops suffering in silence or hesitating to seek treatment for potentially life-threatening conditions out of fear for their careers, as well as cases of troops leaving the military to get proper treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other combat-related injuries.

"The provider-patient relationship is sacrosanct in the practice of medicine and in the provision of healthcare," said Dr. Alan M. Steinman, a retired Coast Guard Rear Admiral and a member of the Servicemembers United Policy Council. "Virtually all physicians can agree that nothing should impede open and honest communication between a patient and his or her doctor. In this way, ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell" threatens the lives and safety of our troops, and it often puts military health professionals in a moral and ethical dilemma."

A copy of the resolution, as well as more information on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," can be found at www.servicemembersunited.org.

On Tuesday, the American Medical Association (AMA) urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research. Medical marijuana gets a boost from major doctors group — latimes.com

[T]he AMA has maintained since 1997 that marijuana should remain a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category, which also includes heroin and LSD.

In changing its policy, the group said its goal was to clear the way to conduct clinical research, develop cannabis-based medicines and devise alternative ways to deliver the drug.

* * *

The decision by the organization's delegates at a meeting in Houston marks another step in the evolving view of marijuana, which an AMA report notes was once linked by the federal government to homicidal mania. Since California voters approved the use of medical marijuana in 1996, marijuana has moved steadily into the cultural mainstream spurred by the growing awareness that it can have beneficial effects for some chronically ill people.

This year, the Obama administration sped up that drift when it ordered federal narcotics agents not to arrest medical marijuana users and providers who follow state laws. Polls show broadening support for marijuana legalization.

Thirteen states allow the use of medical marijuana, and about a dozen more have considered it this year.

The AMA, however, also adopted as part of its new policy a sentence that admonishes: "This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."

The association also rejected a proposal to issue a more forceful call for marijuana to be rescheduled.

In a report released with its new policy, the AMA noted that the organization was "virtually alone" in opposing the first federal restrictions on marijuana, which were adopted in 1937. Cannabis had been used in various medicinal products for years, but fell into disuse in the early 20th century.

The AMA is not the only major doctors organization to rethink marijuana. Last year, the American College of Physicians, the second-largest physician group, called for "rigorous scientific evaluation of the potential therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana" and an "evidence-based review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance."

Last month, the California Medical Assn. passed resolutions that declared the criminalization of marijuana "a failed public health policy" and called on the organization to take part in the debate on changing current policy.

NB: In Arizona, there are two initiative petitions circulating, I-04-2010, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, file ID 200893664, click here for full text of initiative: PDF; and I-05-2010, the Campaign Against Marijuana Prohibition 420, file no. 201000253, click here for full text of initiative: PDF. These initiative drives will need to collect 153,365 valid petition signatures before July 1, 2010 to qualify for the November 2010 ballot.