Virtually every government appointed commission to investigate marijuana's medical potential has issued favorable findings. These include the U.S. Institute of Medicine in 1982, the Australian National Task Force on Cannabis in 1994 and the U.S. National Institutes of Health Workshop on Medical Marijuana in 1997. More recently, Britain's House of Lord's Science and Technology Committee found in 1998 that the available evidence supported the legal use of medical cannabis. MPs determined, The government should allow doctors to prescribe cannabis for medical use. Cannabis can be effective in some patients to relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and against certain forms of pain. This evidence is enough to justify a change in the law. The Committee reaffirmed their support in a March 2001 follow-up report criticizing Parliament for failing to legalize the drug.
