Pain Treatment

AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research
Largest and oldest U.S. physician-based group reverses long-held position on
medical marijuana

Houston, TX -- The American Medical Association (AMA) voted today to reverse
its long-held position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance
with no medical value. The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council
on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, "Use of Cannabis for
Medicinal Purposes," which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana

No Relief in Sight
Torture, despair, agony, and death are the symptoms of "opiophobia," a well-documented medical syndrome fed by fear, superstition, and the war on drugs. Doctors suffer the syndrome. Patients suffer the consequences.

Jacob Sullum | January 1997 Print Edition

“Pain contracts” are signed agreements between a patient and a doctor specifying the terms and conditions under which the doctor agrees to treat a patient's chronic pain with opioid medications. These contracts typically include provisions which require patients to comply with the doctor's treatment recommendations, submit to random drug screening, refrain from the use of alcohol or illegal drugs, and keep their appointments. These contracts also usually specify that a patient may be discharged from the doctor's care or denied further treatment for any violation of the agreement.

The Pain Treatment Agreement
By David B. Brushwood, R.Ph., J.D.
University of Florida
June 2002