The term "marijuana" is a word with indistinct origins. Some believe that it is derived from the Mexican words for "Mary Jane"; others believe that "marijuana" comes from the Portuguese word marigu-ana, which means "intoxicant." As defined by http://www.dictionary.com, marijuana is defined as a strong smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoria causing and hallucinogenic drugs are prepared. The synonyms for marijuana are marihuana, ganja, pot, grass, weed, dope, sess, sens, skunk, Mary Jane, and Cannabis Sativa. The experience of the 1960's might lead one to believe that marijuana use spreads explosively. The chronicle of its 3,000-year history, however, shows that this "explosion" has been a characteristic only of the contemporary scene. The plant has been grown for fiber and as a source of medicine for several thousand year

Young went on to recommend that, based on the guidelines for medical use set forth by the Controlled Substances Act, that the drug be transferred to Schedule II. However, the DEA rejected the decision of its own judge and refused to transfer marijuana to Schedule II (Grinspoon, 1993).

s, but until 500 A.D. its use as a mind-altering drug was confined to only India. The drug and its uses reached the Middle East and Near East in the next several centuries, and then moved across North Africa. The drug was then introduced into the United States. It had been used in the Caribbean and Latin America before it came to the United States. Meanwhile it had been introduced into European medicine shortly after the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon.

Throughout history, cannabis has been used as a medicinal herb. The Chinese were the first to record the use of marijuana as medicine, but many cultures have recognized the beneficial qualities of the hemp plant. The first published studies in the United States came in 1860 by the Ohio Medical Society. These physicians reported that cannabis was successful in treating stomach pain, gastric distress, psychosis, chronic cough, gonorrhea and neuralgia. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 worked to diminish the study of marijuana as medicine until the early 1970s, when cannabis was "re-discovered" as a medical substance and was tested in treating such conditions as glaucoma, cancer treatment side-effects, and other ailments. Current promising areas of marijuana research include AIDS, epilepsy, nervous disorders, asthma, pain relief and, ironically enough, mental illness.

Physician support for the medical use of marijuana is overwhelmingly. The American Medical Association, a group of practitioners from all disciplines, has made their support for medical marijuana research known. In a highly public statement, the AMA has called for federally funded research in the efficacy of marijuana for medical treatment. A group of physicians and patients have filed a class-action lawsuit against the government claiming that the federal government has violated their constitutional rights by threatening to sanction and even criminally prosecute physicians who recommend and patients who use marijuana to alleviate their medical conditions.

Many organizations have tried to institute legal proceedings to allow hearings to have marijuana transferred to Schedule II so that it may be prescribed for physicians for supervised, medical use. Lester Grinspoon attended one such BNDD (Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) hearing where he had waited for his chance to present his case in favor of having marijuana transferred to Schedule II. Before him, a case was being presented to place a drug called Talwin on the schedule of dangerous drugs. Talwin, a drug manufacturer by Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, was a synthetic opiate based drug with a history of several hundred cases of addiction, a number of cases of death by overdose and considerable evidence of abuse. Winthrop Pharmaceuticals sent six corporate lawyers to defend their product and to ensure that Talwin was not placed on the schedule of drugs. They succeeded in part; the drug was placed on Schedule IV. Dr. Grinspoon then presented his case on cannabis - no evidence of overdose deaths or addiction and a great deal of scientific evidence showing the medicinal value of marijuana (presented by both patients and physicians). The BNDD refused to transfer the drug to Schedule II (Grinspoon, 1993). In this decision, they made a legal error - they failed to open the hearings to the public as was mandated by law.

The history of cannabis products and their use has been long, colorful and varied. Cannabis sativa has been used therapeutically for several thousand years. The first uses of cannabis as a medicine are believed to be as an antiseptic and analgesic. The oldest known use of cannabis dates back to the 28th century B.C. during the reign of Emperor

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Approximate Word count = 2845
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)