{"id":51871,"date":"2020-07-14T17:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T17:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/dr-oz-says-the-feds-told-him-theyre-onboard-for-federal-weed-legalization\/"},"modified":"2020-07-14T17:00:34","modified_gmt":"2020-07-14T17:00:34","slug":"dr-oz-says-the-feds-told-him-theyre-onboard-for-federal-weed-legalization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/news\/dr-oz-says-the-feds-told-him-theyre-onboard-for-federal-weed-legalization\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Oz Says the Feds Told Him They’re Onboard for Federal Weed Legalization"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US government has remained steadfast in its prohibition of cannabis<\/a>, despite the fact most states have legalized at least some form<\/a> of marijuana use. But, according to celebrity doctor<\/a> and TV host Mehmet Oz, better known as Dr. Oz, this refusal to accept the therapeutic potential of cannabis may stem from a lack of consensus between federal agencies<\/u><\/a>, rather than a united stance against weed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a recent Instagram interview<\/u><\/a> with Fatman Scoop, Dr. Oz claimed that officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) separately told him that both agencies are totally down for cannabis reform. However, each of these agencies has blamed the other for blocking their own efforts to put an end to prohibition.<\/p>\n

These comments came to light when Scoop asked Dr. Oz his professional opinion on cannabis. The doctor said that he became convinced of the medical value of pot after fellow TV host Montel Williams told him<\/u><\/a> how he successfully used medical marijuana to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Since then, Dr. Oz has become a proponent of medicinal pot, calling it \u201cone of the most underused tools in America,\u201d according to <\/u>Marijuana Moment<\/em><\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ought to completely change our policy on marijuana,\u201d the doctor told Scoop<\/u><\/a>. \u201cIt absolutely works. Now I\u2019ve seen this helping people with sleep issues, with pain issues for sure, and a lot of people who have serious medical problems getting relief\u2014and here\u2019s the thing, you can\u2019t die from it. I\u2019m unaware of any case when anyone has overdosed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot safer than alcohol. It\u2019s safer than narcotics. It ought to be used more widely and we can\u2019t even study it that easily because of the way it\u2019s regulated,\u201d Dr. Oz continued. \u201cYou know what, I called the DEA\u2014they said, \u2018we don\u2019t want this to be illegal. Your government ought to change that. But we got to enforce the law.\u2019 I call the FDA that regulates the drugs, they say, \u2018we think it ought to be used, but until the DEA says it\u2019s allowed, we can\u2019t let people prescribe it everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n