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1. Name: Joycelyn Elders, MD  
2. Title: Professor of Public Health, University of Arkansas School of Medicine
3. Medical Marijuana
Position:		 Pro to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
4. Reasoning:

"The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day." "Myths About Medical Marijuana," Providence Journal, Mar. 26, 2004
5. Credibility
Ranking:		  Key Experts
Physicians [We believe physicians are the "key experts" in the medical marijuana debate because the issue is thought by many to be ultimately based on the medical value and risks of marijuana, and Physicians, with their training and clinical work, should (at least in theory) have the best knowledge of marijuana's medical value and risks.].

6. Involvement:
  • Distinguished Professor in the College of Public Health and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 1994-present
  • Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, July 1993- Jan. 1995
  • President, Association of State and Territorial Health Officers, 1992
  • Director, Arkansas Department of Health, 1987
7. Education:
  • MS, Biochemistry, University of Arkansas Medical Center, 1967
  • MD, University of Arkansas Medical Center, 1960
  • BA, Philander Smith College, Arkansas, 1952
8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors:
  • Recipient, Woman of the Year Award, Arkansas Democrat
  • Recipient, Career development award, National Institutes of Health
  • Recipient, Distinguished Service Award, National Governor's Association
  • Recipient, Dr. Nathan Davis Award, American Medical Association

9. Contact Info:
Phone: 501-526-6700 Fax: 501-526-6650
E-Mail:   None found
Web Site: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services profile
10. Other:
  • Born Minnie Lee Jones
Select Publications:
  • "Mainstream Medicine Has Endorsed Medical Marijuana," AlterNet.org, Mar. 26, 2008
  • Cowritten with Jerry Friedman, Robert Coles, and Lama Surya Das, Earth's Elders: The Wisdom of the World's Oldest People, 2005
  • "Myths About Medical Marijuana," Providence Journal, Mar. 26, 2004
  • From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America, 1997
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