The Legalization of Marijuana, 2016
From Opposing Viewpoints in Context
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved the
marijuana plant as medicine."
In the following viewpoint, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) argues that the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the use of the marijuana plant as
medicine because research has not justified the use of the entire plant for medicinal purposes.
However, NIDA contends that pharmaceuticals created with cannabinoids have been shown to
have medically effective uses and more research is being done in that area. NIDA is part of
the National Institutes of Health of the US Department of Health and Human Services,
providing national leadership for research on drug abuse and addiction.
As you read, consider the following questions:
1. Approximately how many cannabinoids are in the marijuana plant, according to NIDA?
2. For what two purposes does NIDA say the FDA-approved cannabinoid medications are
allowed to be used?
3. NIDA claims that scientists are currently studying the use of marijuana and its extracts to
treat what diseases?
The term medical marijuana refers to using the whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic
extracts to treat a disease or symptom. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not
recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine.