The U.S. government should reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug so that scientists can conduct more research into its potential health effects, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends in a new policy statement. It’s the first time that the leading doctors’ group has updated its official stance on medical marijuana in more than a decade.
The pediatricians’ group does not support the full legalization of marijuana, maintaining that the drug is not healthy for kids and worrying that legalizing pot for adults will make it easier for children to get their hands on it. The new policy statement does, however, support decriminalization — a policy change that the lead authors believe “takes this whole issue out of the criminal justice system and puts it into the health system, where it really should be.”
The AAP says that the criminal penalties for being caught with marijuana should be reduced so that a drug possession charge doesn’t prevent young people from successfully getting jobs, housing, or student loans in the future. They recommend that kids found in possession of the drug could be entered in a treatment center instead of placed in juvenile detention.
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STORY:http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/01/26/3615256/doctors-group-marijuana-research/