The Truth About Medical Marijuana

A panel of legal and medical experts join author Ed Rosenthal in a discussion on the impact of state laws allowing medical marijuana versus federal efforts to override all decriminalization statutes in this forum sponsored by the Independent Institute, Harper’s Magazine, and the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.

Ed Rosenthal is a California horticulturist, author, publisher, and Cannabis grower known for his advocacy for the legalization of marijuana use. He served as a columnist for High Times Magazine during the ’80s and ’90s.

He was arrested by federal authorities in 2002 for cultivation of cannabis, who do not recognize the authority of states to regulate the use of medical marijuana. He was convicted in federal court, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Rosenthal was subsequently convicted again, but was not re-sentenced, since his original sentence had been completed.

Rosenthal has been active in promoting and developing policies of civil regulation for medicinal marijuana. With the passage of California’s pioneering Proposition 215 in 1996, which authorizes medicinal use of marijuana, he worked with the state and local governments to implement the delivery of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis to patients with a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana.

Rosenthal is also the author of numerous books about the cultivation of marijuana. One of his most recent marijuana cultivation books, Marijuana Grower’s Handbook, was released in June 2010.

Medical cannabis refers to the parts of the herb cannabis used as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine. The Cannabis plant has a long history of use as medicine.

Cannabis is one of the 50 “fundamental” herbs of traditional Chinese medicine, and is prescribed to treat diverse indications. There are many recorded use of cannabis and its therapeutic uses.