A publication from NIDA, revised as of April 2015, states that,
Recent animal studies have shown that marijuana can kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others. Evidence from one animal study suggests that extracts from whole-plant marijuana can shrink one of the most serious types of brain tumors. Research in mice showed that these extracts, when used with radiation, increased the cancer-killing effects of the radiation.
This news comes at an awkward time, considering that just this week, an announcement was made by the Department of Justice stating that it will continue to prosecute medical marijuana cases against individuals in defiance of Congress.
So while one government agency is admitting the benefits of marijuana in medical treatments, the Justice Department is pushing forward with prosecuting medical marijuana users in spite of the data substantiating its value.
“It couldn’t be any clearer that marijuana has medical value,” Tom Angell, chairman of the Marijuana Majority, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “When even NIDA and the surgeon general are acknowledging that marijuana can help people who are suffering, it is time for the Obama administration to reschedule the drug. The attorney general can initiate that process today, and there’s no reason for him not to, especially when polling shows that such a huge majority of Americans supports medical marijuana.”
In the Huffington Post, Drug Policy Alliance Director of National Affairs Bill Piper chastised the Justice Department, saying they are defying the will of the voters.
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