John Schwarz, Father Of String Theory, To Headline Medical Marijuana Conference In D.C.

John Schwarz, Father Of String Theory, To Headline Medical Marijuana Conference In D.C.

clipped from article: A medical marijuana conference planned for next week will not feature activists, politicians or even law enforcement. The event's main speaker will be John Schwarz, a theoretical physics professor at the California Institute of Technology and a father of string theory.
Aside from an editorial published in The Huffington Post late last year, the conference will mark Schwarz's first time speaking publicly on the issue.
"Being a physicist, not a physician, I don't usually comment on issues in medical science," Schwarz wrote in his editorial. "But I can no longer remain silent while people in my family and profession run the risk of federal arrest so that they can follow the recommendations of their doctors."
One such person is Schwarz's wife, Patricia, who, after being diagnosed with a bladder condition in 1995 found medical marijuana was the only thing that relieved her pain. After listening to her groan about the issue for years, Schwarz said her husband felt moved to take up the cause. "We live in a evidence-based society," Patricia Schwarz told HuffPost. "Why isn't the science getting through?"
Under federal law, marijuana is considered a schedule I prohibited substance, defined as having “a high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use in treatment.” (Other examples of schedule I drugs include heroin and LSD, while cocaine, opium and methamphetamine are classified as schedule II drugs with "some accepted medical use.") [ read more at link]