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Legalizing Marijuana for Medical Purposes
Submitted by: Council of District Residents, Ethics Committee,
and Committee on Preserving the Rights of HIV Infected Persons

Whereas     Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, which means that it cannot
            be legally used as a medicine by patients or prescribed by
            physicians; and

Whereas     Schedule I drugs must meet all of the following criteria: 1)
            have no therapeutic value, 2) are not safe for medical use,
            and 3) have a high abuse potential; and

Whereas     Virginia nurses have an understanding a) of the negative
            health consequences that substance abuse and/or addiction
            can cause, b) that substance abuse and addiction are not
            about "bad" drugs, but rather about the unhealthy use of
            drugs, and c) that persons can develop a substance abuse or
            addiction problem from any psychoactive drugs, legal or
            illegal; and

Whereas     Marijuana has been found to be effective in a) reducing
            intraocular pressure in glaucoma, b) reducing nausea and
            vomiting associated with chemotherapy, c) stimulating the
            appetite for persons living with AIDS and suffering from
            wasting syndrome, d) controlling spasticity associated with
            spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, and e)
            controlling seizures associated with seizure disorders; and

Whereas     Marijuana has a wide margin of safety for use under medical
            supervision and cannot cause lethal reactions; and

Whereas     Thirty-six states, including Virginia, have recognized
            marijuana's therapeutic potential and have passed
            legislation supporting its medicinal use; and

Whereas     The Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) own Administrative Law
            Judge ruled in 1988 that marijuana must be removed from the
            Schedule I category and made available for physicians to
            prescribe; and

Whereas     Desperate patients and their families have chosen to break
            the law in order to obtain this medicine when conventional
            medicines have not been effective or are too toxic.  This
            places these patients at risk for criminal charges and at
            risk for obtaining contaminated medicines because of the lack
            of quality control; and

Whereas     Nurses have an ethical obligation to be advocates for health
            care for all individuals.  Medicines which enhance the
            quality of life for persons suffering from life threatening
            or debilitating illness; therefore, be it

Resolved    That the Virginia Nurses Association support all reasonable
            efforts to end federal policies which prohibit or
            unnecessarily restrict marijuana's legal availability for
            legitimate medical uses; and be it

Resolved    That the Virginia Nurses Association provide education to the
            nurses of Virginia on the therapeutic use of marijuana and
            the federal prohibition of its use; and be it

Resolved    That the Virginia Nurses Association ecourage other health
            care provider organizations to support medical access to
            marijuana; and be it

Resolved    That the Virginia Nurses Association submit a resolution to
            the American Nurses Association House of Delegates in 1995
            that the American Nurses Association educate American nurses
            about the therapeutic use of marijuana and the federal
            prohibition of its use; and be it

Resolved    That the Virginia Nurses Association submit a resolution to
            the American Nurses Association House of Delegates in 1995
            that the American Nurses Association support a change in
            federal policy to permit medical access to marijuana for
            therapeutic purposes.

This resolution was passed by the Virginia Nurses Association Delegate Assembly on October 7, 1994. If you would like further information about educating nurses or other health care professionals on this issue or would like to consider drafting a similar resolution for your professional organization please contact: Mary Lynn Mathre, RN, MSN, CARN, at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, at (804) 982-4338.