In his first on-camera interview since being confirmed as U.S. Surgeon General, the top-ranking doctor in the United States said he believes “marijuana can be helpful.”
Dr. Vivek Murthy was appointed U.S. Surgeon General in mid-December, making him the youngest to ever hold the position and the first of Indian descent. In his televised interview with “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday, Murthy looked to science for guidance as he said he was open to medical marijuana as a legitimate medical treatment.
“My position is that we have to see what the science tells us about the efficacy about marijuana, and I think we’re going to get a lot more data on that,” Murthy told the morning show. “We have some preliminary data showing that, for certain medical conditions and symptoms, that marijuana can be helpful, and we have to use that data to drive policy making. And I’m very interested to see where that data takes us.”
When Murthy was first asked about his position on the subject, he gave a stock answer that tip-toed around the question.
“Marijuana is an interesting story that is unfolding in our country right now,” he said. “We’ve had a long history of discussion around the benefits and risks of marijuana. We have experiments going on in many states right now where medical marijuana has been legalized and in at least a few states where it has been legalized for recreational use.”
When pressed by one of the CBS anchors, he elaborated.
