Delegates to the American Medical Association’s annual meeting last month passed a resolution asking Congress to absolve from prosecuting doctors dispensing medical marijuana in states where it’s legal.
The resolution, drawn up to show that doctors are unified on the issue, asks Congress to draw up legislation “ensuring or providing immunity against federal prosecution for physicians who certify that a patient has an approved medical condition or recommend cannabis in accordance with their state’s laws.”
Last-minute revisions made to the resolution before it was put up for vote by the some 500 delegates at the conference, the word “prescribe” was changed to “recommend” and the words “medical marijuana” were replaced with the word “cannabis.”
“Medical marijuana” was changed to “cannabis” to get around the fact that marijuana is not recognized as a medicine by the AMA.
The other wording change could work against Louisiana, which, coincidentally, was voting on legislation legalizing medical marijuana at the same time the AMA was voting on its resolution.
The Louisiana bill, approved in both houses and awaiting the governor’s signature, calls for a doctor’s “prescription,” rather than “recommendation,” as it does in the other 23 states where it has been legalized.
