Comparison studies find cannabis less physically, psychologically and socially harmful to users than tobacco and alcohol [1, 2]. These substances are legal for recreational consumption and hold little therapeutic value, especially when compared to the emerging research on medicinal cannabis. In 1917 the AMA declared that alcohol’s medicinal use “has no scientific basis.” Despite this, the historical lessons of Prohibition and their application to current drug policy remain evident today.
The main rationale presented by the administration does not stand up to scrutiny when considering the government’s policy towards other legal, recreational substances.
1. Hall, W., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use. NDARC, 1995.
2. Nutt, D.J., Drug Harms in the UK. The Lancet, 2010.