Hot Document: medical marijuana 'physician's statement'

Slate has a semi-regular feature called "Hot Document," and a recent edition showcased a physician's recommendation letter that medical marijuana would be helpful for a California patient's condition:

Below is a one page "physician's statement"—in effect, a prescription, though the text, for legal reasons, disavows that definition—from medicinal cannabis proponent David Bearman, MD, former medical director of the Santa Barbara Regional Health Authority. The patient (whose name Slate removed to protect privacy) will require a "repeat visit in approximately 12 months." The particular medical condition benefiting from "therapeutic use" remains confidential between patient and doctor. Doctor Bearman's statement does not specify whether this patient's symptoms are physical, emotional or cognitive, but notes that "literature supports the medical benefit of cannabis." As a caveat, Dr. Bearman points out that neither the California statute nor his considered medical opinion provides any immunity from U.S. drug laws, which classify marijuana as an illegal Schedule I drug.

That "caveat" is as long as the main body of the recommendation letter itself, featuring a range of gesticulations and contortions to try to stay out of the way of federal liability. Good stuff - click through for the full letter.