rss
J Med Ethics 2004;30:333-336 doi:10.1136/jme.2002.001347
  • Symposium on drugs

Prescribing cannabis: freedom, autonomy, and values

  1. M Hayry
  1. Correspondence to:
 M Hayry
 Centre for Professional Ethics, University of Central Lancashire, UK; mhayryuclan.ac.uk
  • Received 13 August 2002
  • Accepted 20 October 2003
  • Revised 23 September 2003

Abstract

In many Western jurisdictions cannabis, unlike most other psychoactive drugs, cannot be prescribed to patients even in cases where medical professionals believe that it would ease the patient’s pain or anxiety. The reasons for this prohibition are mostly ideological, although medical and moral arguments have been formulated to support it. In this paper, it is argued that freedom, properly understood, provides a sound ethical reason to allow the use of cannabis in medicine. Scientific facts, appeals to harm and autonomy, and considerations of symbolic value cannot consistently justify prohibitions.

Footnotes

    This Article

    1. Abstract
    2. Full text
    3. PDF

    Responses

    1. Submit a response
    2. No responses published

    Register for free content

    The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

    Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.