As the author of the recent publication, “Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review of the Scientific Literature,� I take umbrage with those politicians and law enforcement officials who argue, "Smoked marijuana is not medicine." This allegation -- most recently asserted on the DEA's new website - http://www.JustThinkTwice.com -- is false, plain and simple.

While writing the abovementioned booklet, I reviewed over 150 clinical and preclinical studies assessing the therapeutic value of cannabis and its active compounds to treat symptoms -- and in some cases moderate disease progression -- in a variety of illness, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, diabetes, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. Nearly all of the studies cited in my work were published within the past six years.