American Academy of Family Physicians Endorses Decriminalizing and Rescheduling Cannabis

Cannabis consumption, both for medical and recreational purposes, can be a divisive issue for many doctors. Now, the American Academy of Family Physicians ^[1] (AAFP), representing over 100,000 family physicians (as well as students and residents), has taken a stand on the issue, and made their opinion clear.

On Wednesday, the AAFP held their annual Congress of Delegates and passed two resolutions regarding cannabis. The first, Resolution No. 503, put forth by delegates from the State of New York, calls for the decriminalization of cannabis. It was originally written to secure the organization’s support for full legalization, but, after some deliberation, delegates came to the compromise of altering it to support decriminalization.

The second resolution, No. 504, introduced by delegates from Minnesota, calls for the reclassification of cannabis on the federal controlled substances list, reducing it from a Schedule 1 substance, which is defined as having no known medical value, down to a Schedule 2 substance, the classification of several popular legal pharmaceutical drugs.

The resolution contends that rescheduling cannabis will “facilitate further research on the potential medical uses of pharmaceutical cannabinoids.“

– TheJointBlog