It's Obvious: CA Medical Assoc. Says Pot Prohibition Is 'Failed Public Health Policy'

Drug War protester in Huntington Beach, Calif. (Photo by The November Coalition)

By Steve Elliott in Chronic City

In a laudable nod to the obvious, members of the California Medical Association's (CMA) House of Delegates have endorsed a resolution stating that the criminal prohibition of marijuana is a "failed public health policy."

As enacted, Resolution 704a-09, the "Criminalization of Marijuana" states: "[The] CMA considers the criminalization of marijuana to be a failed public health policy, ... and encourage[s] ... debate and education regarding the health aspects of changing current policy regarding cannabis use." [PDF] The CMA has more than 35,000 members statewide.

A report just published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal highlights another good reason to question marijuana prohibition: Health-related "social costs" per user are eight times higher for alcohol users than for those who use marijuana, and more than 40 times higher for tobacco smokers.

The report gauges related costs per user at more than $800 yearly for tobacco; $165 for alcohol; and only $20 for cannabis.

Read the rest at Chronic City in the SF Weekly blog, "The Snitch": Chronic City: It's Obvious -- State Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is 'Failed Public Health Policy' | Digg story