Medicinal Case for Pot Is Not Proven, Appeals Court Rules

A federal appeals court refused Friday to force the government to allow medical use of marijuana by people suffering from cancer, AIDS and other illnesses.

The Bush Administration’s 1992 decision not to let doctors prescribe marijuana to ease patients’ pain or nausea was supported by “substantial evidence,” said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Numerous medical experts testified “that marijuana’s medicinal value has never been proven in sound scientific studies,” the court said.

The Clinton Administration has said it was reconsidering the ban.

Arnold Trebach of the Drug Policy Foundation, one of the groups that challenged the government policy, said, “The ball is in Mr. Clinton’s court. He can look up and say, ‘Enough of this foolishness.’ He can do something compassionate.”

Supporters of medical use of marijuana say there is strong evidence that it is effective in easing the ill effects of chemotherapy, AIDS, glaucoma and neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis.

The government allowed some people to get permission from the Food and Drug Administration to use marijuana for such purposes starting in 1976. A handful of those people still are allowed to use marijuana, but new requests have not been approved.