cannabisnews.com: Doctors Cautioned When Prescribing Marijuana Doctors Cautioned When Prescribing Marijuana Posted by FoM on January 23, 2002 at 08:59:21 PT By CBC News Online Staff Source: CBC News Doctors in Canada say that even though the government has approved the use of medical marijuana, regulations often make it difficult to prescribe. Kingston-based physician Dr. Peter Ford says he has no problems prescribing the drug for patients at his HIV clinic. He says the marijuana helps relieve nausea associated with HIV medications, and stimulates the appetite. But he is concerned with the amount of federal bureaucracy involved in the process. Ford says doctors must specify exactly how much marijuana a patient needs, and detail the possible side effects. He says that's impossible because there is no standardized dose, and there is not enough scientific research into the effects of marijuana. Ford believes the government is just trying to protect itself from future risk and shift the liability onto the doctor. "They're trying to indemnify themselves against anything happening. If somebody gets lung cancer 10 years down the road, they're going to say 'Your doctor should have told you about that,'" said Ford. The Canadian Medical Protective Association, the organization that insures Canada's 60,000 doctors has begun warning its members about prescribing the drug. Dr. John Gray, the secretary-treasurer of the association, says he's written to the health minister urging that the rules be changed. "These regulations were drafted in haste, without enough consultation. It's time to scrap them and go back to the drawing board and come up with something suitable," said Gray. The director of Health Canada's medical cannabis access office, Cindy Cripps-Prawak, says the wheels of change are in motion, but it will take time. "There are so many elements within this program which are really at the bud stage and we need to have those in-depth discussions with all of the stakeholders that will allow us to move it forward," said Cripps-Prawak. She noted that new research is currently underway, and that a review committee will be set up shortly to consider changes. Complete Title: Doctors Cautioned When Prescribing Medical Marijuana Source: CBC News (Canada)Published: January 23, 2002 Copyright: 2002 CBCWebsite: http://www.cbc.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Health Canadahttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmPot On Back Burner http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11797.shtmlSuffering Few Who Legally Possess Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11135.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on January 23, 2002 at 20:16:04 PT They don't get cautioned when they prescribe chemo Here's the latest article of the mammography controversy:http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/24/health/24BREA.htmlIt seems that it is just now being appreciated by cancer statisticians that breast cancer treatment can be at least as lethal as breast cancer.So now nobody knows whether it really is worth it to detect breast cancer early as opposed to late.A doctor could shorten lifespan rather than increase it by treating breast cancer too aggressively too soon.Doctors seem so irrational to me. Almsot every substance a doctor comes into contact with to heal people has some ugly or lethal aspect to it. Yet so many of them resist the idea of medical marijuana still.I don't see how someone who could prescribe chemotherapy could then decide that marijuana was not safe.Perhaps day chemotherpy will be seen as something as barbaric and ignorant as drilling holes in a person's head to let the evil spirits out. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on January 23, 2002 at 09:31:40 PT: Education Needed The dose of clinical cannabis is what the patient needs to experience relief.I repeat my offer to help educate Canadian doctors on clinical cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment