In 1997, largely in response to the passage of California’s Compassionate Use Act, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy commissioned the national Institute of Medicine (IOM) to undertake an extensive review of the scientific evidence of the therapeutic applications of cannabis. The IOM’s report, "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," was published in the spring of 1999. (Joy, Janet E.; Stanley J. Watson, Jr.; John A. Benson, Jr., Eds. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Washington, DC: Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Health, Institute of Medicine. 1999. 259 p.) The IOM was tasked with assessing the current scientific findings concerning medical marijuana. In accomplishing its task, the IOM reviewed the scientific bases identifying the active ingredients of marijuana, how those ingredients act on human and animal physiology, and clinical experiments evaluating the efficacy of marijuana and several of its active agents. The IOM's 250-plus-page report concluded that "[s]cientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."

The IOM acknowledged that marijuana currently provides the only alternative for certain people for whom approved medicines are ineffective and emphasized the desirability of further research into the effects of cannabinoids and the development of delivery systems by which the active ingredients of marijuana can be delivered to patients in a dose-controlled, smoke-free manner. As a result, it is not surprising that the IOM conditionally endorsed medical marijuana.

Specifically, the IOM Report suggested that:

Short-term use of smoked marijuana (less than six months) for
patients with debilitating symptoms . . . must meet the following
conditions: failure of all approved medications to provide relief has been documented, the symptoms can reasonably be expected to be relieved by rapid-onset cannabinoid drugs, such treatment is administered under medical supervision in a manner that allows for assessment of treatment effectiveness, and involves an oversight strategy comparable to an institutional review board process that could provide guidance within 24 hours of a submission by a physician to provide marijuana to a patient for a specified use.

• Marijuana Policy Project report, Questions about medical marijuana answered by the Institute of Medicine's report Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base)
• Read Dr. Lester Grinspoon's Review of the IOM Report

While the IOM was conducting its evaluation, Britain’s House of Lords was questioning and taking testimony from leading researchers, clinicians and patients regarding the medical benefits and drawbacks of cannabis. The House of Lords’ report was issued in November 1998. (Select Committee on Science and Technology, House of Lords, Cannabis: The Scientific and Medical Evidence. Session 1997-98, 9th Report.)

The findings and recommendations of the Lords Report closely parallel those of the IOM. Like the IOM, the House of Lords determined that cannabis holds important medical benefits for certain seriously ill patients for whom conventional therapies are ineffective. The House of Lords, however, went a step further than the IOM. On the basis of its assessment of the medical benefits of cannabis, the House of Lords recommended that the government of Britain:

transfer cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule I of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations to Schedule 2, so as to allow doctors to prescribe an appropriate preparation of cannabis, albeit as an unlicensed medicine and on the named-patient basis, and to allow doctors and pharmacists to supply the drug prescribed.

Lords Report at § 8.23 (iii).

Reviews of Scientific Studies:

California Research Advisory Panel. "Twentieth Annual Report of the State of California Research Advisory Panel -1989." 1989.
Excerpt:

The Panel therefore suggests that the law be changed to permit cultivation for personal use. Such cultivation would be permitted only on property serving as the residence for the individual, that is, it would not authorize the cultivation of fifty plants on a National forest and it would not permit the possession outside of the home of more than the present one ounce, nor would it sanction the provision to others in or out of the residence whether by sale or in the form "parties". The change regulating the provision of this drug must be made in such a way that we do not see the development of another industry comparable to the alcohol or cigarette industry. This would require extensive revision of Health and Safety Code, Section 11358, which covers substances and matters other than the plant.

Consumer Reports. "Marijuana as medicine: How strong is the science?" May 1997.

Gieringer Ph.D., Dale. "Review of Human Studies on Medical Use of Marijuana." 1996, August.

Meyers M.D., Frederick H. "Comments on The Report of the California Research Advisory Panel." Drug Policy Foundation Legislative Forum on Drug Policy. 27, January 1992.

National Institute of Health. "Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana." Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Health. 1997, February 19-20. 42 p.

New Scientist. "High anxieties: What the WHO doesn't want you to know about cannabis." New Scientist. 21, February 1998.

Recer, Paul. "Experts urge new medical marijuana studies." Associated Press. 8, August 1997.

World Health Organization, Division of Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Abuse. "Cannabis: a health perspective and research agenda." World Health Organization. 1997. 50 p.

Zeese, Kevin B. "Research Findings on Medicinal Properties of Marijuana." 1997, January.

Sources For Scientific Studies

American for Medical Rights--The Science of Medical Marijuana
PubMed Online Database

Schaffer Library: Medical Information on Marijuana

Current Research

Corral, Valerie; Hadorn M.D., David. "WAMM Medical Marijuana Effectiveness Study." Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. January 2000. 9 p.

International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS)
ICRS is a scientific association with over 200 members who are active researchers in the field of cannabis.

Medical Marijuana: Tribulations and Trials (RealAudio file)
Lindesmith Center Seminar. New York. 10, February 2000. Donald Abrams, M.D., examines current research into the medical use of marijuana. Dr. Abrams, assistant director of the AIDS Program at San Francisco General Hospital, reviews the past and future of his National Institutes of Health-funded research into the medical uses of marijuana for AIDS patients.

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). MAPS supports current medical marijuana research, including Dr. Abrams' study.

Russell, Sabin. "Study finds pot safe for AIDS patients: Government funding for research a first." San Francisco Chronicle. 14, July 2000.

• Read the history of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and Dr. Donald Abrams' efforts to obtain government approval for this study.
  

Stix, Gary. "Herb remedy: Exploring ways to administer marijuana as a medicine." Scientific American. September 1999.

The University of California Center for Cannabis Medical Research Coordinates scientific studies to assess the safety and efficacy of cannabis and cannabis compounds for treating medical conditions.

Whitney, Jean. "Medical marijuana experiment begins in San Mateo County: Drug to be dispensed to 60 AIDS patients." Alameda Times-Star. 6, April 2001.

Also see Medical Conditions page.