Source: Ohio State Medical Association
On January 9, the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) House of Delegates met virtually to consider revising its position on legalization of marijuana. OSMA’s current position dates back to 1991 and is “the OSMA strongly opposes legalization of any presently illegal drugs of substance abuse, including but not limited to, marijuana and cocaine.”
While the virtual meeting resulted in a vibrant discussion, the meeting lacked a quorum (106 participated and 114 were needed for a quorum) so no new policy was adopted. While not official policy, attendees of the special House of Delegates meeting agreed on the following draft statements:
- The OSMA opposes recreational use of marijuana.
- The OSMA supports Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved clinical research to explore the potential risks versus benefits of using marijuana or its component chemicals to treat specific medical conditions.
- The OSMA supports focused and controlled medical use of pharmaceutical grade marijuana or its component chemicals for treatment of those conditions which have been evaluated through the IRB-approved clinical research studies and have been shown to be efficacious.
- The OSMA recommends that marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines and alternate delivery methods.
- The OSMA supports limiting marijuana prescribing rights, if permitted, to physicians (MDs and DOs).
- The OSMA strongly opposes legalization of any presently illegal drugs of substance abuse, including but not limited to, marijuana and cocaine, except in the instance of appropriate evidence-based use approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The OSMA House of Delegates will continue this discussion and potentially take official action on the marijuana policy at the 2016 OSMA Annual Meeting Saturday-Sunday, April 2-3.