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1. Name: Jerome P. Kassirer, MD  
2. Title: Former Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine
3. Medical Marijuana
Position:		 Pro to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
4. Reasoning:

"I believe that a federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy-handed, and inhumane. [...] Federal authorities should rescind their prohibition of the medicinal use of marijuana for seriously ill patients and allow physicians to decide which patients to treat. The government should change marijuana's status from that of a Schedule 1 drug (considered to be potentially addictive and with no current medical use) to that of a Schedule 2 drug (potentially addictive but with some accepted medical use) and regulate it accordingly." Jan. 30, 1997, "Federal Foolishness and Marijuana," New England Journal of Medicine

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, Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Senior Assistant to the Dean, Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
  • Editor, New England Journal of Medicine, 1991-1999
  • Associate Physician-in-Chief, New England Medical Center; Vice Chairman, Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 1971-1991
  • Faculty, Tufts University School of Medicine, 1961
  • Member, Board of Directors, National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Editorial Board of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, and the Scientific Publishing Committee of the American Heart Association.
7. Education:
  • Internal Medicine Residency, Buffalo General Hospital
  • Nephrology, New England Medical Center
  • MD, magna cum laude, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, 1957
8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors: None found
9. Contact Info:
Phone: 617-636-6523 Fax: None found
E-Mail: None found
Web Site: National Physicians Alliance Profile
10. Other: None found
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