cannabisnews.com: Stuart Hoffman Refutes The Efficacy of Marijuana Stuart Hoffman Refutes The Efficacy of Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on January 05, 2005 at 19:37:52 PT By Dean Kuipers Source: Los Angeles City Beat A top doctor at a major drug testing company refutes the efficacy of medical marijuana.Stuart Hoffman does not believe in the medical use of marijuana – at least, not the kind you grow in your backyard or buy off the street. And he’d feel that way, he says, even if he wasn’t the chief medical review officer for the drug testing services at ChoicePoint, with clients ranging from the U.S. Government to large national retail chains. Born and educated in Minnesota, he was a private oncologist – a cancer doctor – with a thriving practice in Downey, California, for 35 years, and had plenty of patients who used pot to relieve symptoms. And while he agrees marijuana does relieve symptoms – dulling chronic pain, reducing seizures, stimulating the appetite, controlling nausea – he’s seen it surpassed by better drugs. And that, he says, is where the pro-medical marijuana people go wrong. It’s not that the feds don’t want to relieve suffering of people like Angel Raich, the 38-year-old with a plethora of chronic conditions who has taken her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s that the medical establishment has studied pot and found it lacking. “Angel Raich is being used by a group of people, in my opinion, who are struggling to make marijuana legal across the board,” says Hoffman, “and they use all sorts of arguments that are sort of half-truths.” He spoke to CityBeat not in his capacity as an officer of ChoicePoint – he cannot speak officially for the company – but as a doctor who couldn’t let those “half-truths” lie. – Dean Kuipers CityBeat: At ChoicePoint, do you test people who use medical marijuana? Dr. Stuart Hoffman: Constantly. We do about four million drug tests a year here. Approximately five percent are positive for all sorts of things, and marijuana is probably 75-80 percent of those. A few people have prescriptions for Marinol, pure marijuana: perfectly legitimate, recognized by the federal government. People who are on medical marijuana present a very different problem for us because there are only about 10 or 11 states that currently accept medical marijuana. And it is the employer’s individual policy which determines whether we make it a positive or negative. So a Wal-Mart store in California will fire someone for using medical marijuana? A Wal-Mart store anywhere in the world will not recognize medical marijuana, even though some states say that it’s legal. It’s their decision. It’s title 49, part 40, U.S. Department of Transportation. [Hoffman pulls out thick printed book of regulations.] That’s the bible for the federally regulated tests, and it’s been challenged in court many times. Nobody’s ever beaten this thing. As an oncologist, you treated people who used marijuana. Have your attitudes about it changed? No, my attitudes about it have always been the same. I treated many people with chemotherapy who became very nauseated, who were dying of cancer, losing weight and couldn’t eat. Before it was legal, many of my patients would go out and get street marijuana. At the time, there were drugs called Compazine and Thorazine, which were also tranquilizers but had a fair anti-nausea effect. These drugs were on a par with marijuana, and none of them was very good, but they were better than nothing. About seven or eight years ago, a whole new class of drugs came in including things like Ondansetron and two-to-three others, which were anti-nausea medicines that just revolutionized chemotherapy. These were superb. There was no question, it was better. There were still a few people who would request marijuana because it was the mystique of the forbidden fruit. Yes, but Ondansetron is expensive, and homegrown pot is free. Sure. It’s not cheap. But Ondansetron is given intravenously at the time of the chemotherapy, so insurance covers it 100 percent. Uninsured people don’t get chemotherapy, because they can’t afford it – so cost isn’t really a factor. What about appetite stimulation? It’s been known for years that marijuana will stimulate your appetite a little bit. But they’ve found that massive doses of progesterone, one of the female hormones – the substance is marketed under a trade name of Megestrol – is a superb appetite stimulant. Far better than marijuana. Why not give seriously ill people whatever they want? Isn’t it a societal goal to relieve suffering? There’s a lot of things that the general public does out of guilt or what they feel is compassion, but which really doesn’t jive with reality for the people actually on the stuff. I had a huge cross-section of the population in my practice – they didn’t want it. Any more than they wanted opium or opiates for pain relief. They fought it. But, nonetheless – if they did want it, that’s fine. When it comes to pain relief, the right dose of morphine is enough. Whatever that is. The first goal is to prolong life. The next goal is to relieve suffering. Sounds like you agree that marijuana could be good for that. They can have Marinol. Now, there are many physicians in the state of California, particularly in Northern California, who have marijuana practices. We see the medical marijuana prescriptions coming in here. I called one of these physicians and talked to her at some length. She told me that she has limited her practice to the treatment of conditions that require marijuana. She has about 500-600 patients. I asked, “Well, what kind of diseases are you treating?” I thought: HIV, cancers, and things. [She said,] “I treat chronic anxiety, low back strains, tension headaches, degenerative arthritis.” A bunch of things that the preponderance of physicians in this country would not treat with marijuana. I said, “Well, do you monitor them?” “Oh, yes. If these patients don’t come in to see me once a month, I don’t refill their prescription.” This, to my mind, is immoral. Why? She’s relieving their suffering in some way. But she could prescribe it for 90 days. She’s doing this for the money. Isn’t that true of all doctors? People take drugs for arthritis or back pain or depression and never stop. Every time they go in to see the doctor, the doctor gets paid. Sure, there are doctors who do that. Valium, Vicodin. But, in these areas, the state Medical Board of Quality Assurance does step in. I told them about this doctor, and they said she was doing nothing illegal. But there are people getting thrown out of the profession every single month for doing that. You’ve given me a pile of photocopies showing that the government still allows research on the medical effects of marijuana. But the FDA and DEA have claimed for years that they cannot reschedule marijuana to allow for medical use because there’s no research. Are they just ignoring it? No. There’s no research supporting street marijuana as medicine. If you listen to Americans for Safe Access, it says: These people are dying because they can’t get access to marijuana. That’s baloney. They can have Marinol. Your body can’t tell the difference if you take it in that form or whether you smoke a joint. The federal government recognizes that there is a medical purpose for marijuana and a use. What they don’t recognize is a medical purpose for marijuana grown in your back yard or bought off the street, because it conflicts with the societal objective of keeping the community safer by allowing less people to be impaired by it. So you disagree with the idea that people ought to be able to medicate themselves. That’s true: That I disagree with, because you are taking a substance that can impair you and there’s not some medical oversight. I’m not a policeman. I’m not a judge. I really believe that society is better off without medical marijuana. Sure, some people are going to benefit – poor people who cannot afford health insurance, for example. I have heard some very cogent arguments stating that we should completely decriminalize drug abuse and make it an illness. But sometimes when you get conflicting benefits and non-benefits to society, you say, okay, which is the greatest good for the greatest number? Source: Los Angeles City Beat (CA)Author: Dean Kuipers Published: Issue Number 83 - January 06, 2005Copyright: 2005 Southland PublishingContact: deank lacitybeat.comWebsite: http://www.lacitybeat.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #20 posted by john wayne on January 07, 2005 at 05:16:05 PT I am the dumbest f**k in the world That's why I take drug-testing exectutive Stuart Hoffman at his word that medical cannabis isn't real. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by runderwo on January 06, 2005 at 22:12:30 PT ok... This guy speaks of Marinol like it's an exact replacement. It's not, according to many anecdotes, and we can't have controlled experiments thanks to prohibition. Also, the irony of advocating an oral anti-nausea medicine is not lost. I also don't suppose he's looked at the price per dose of Marinol compared to "street marijuana" (read: basement-grown hydro) lately. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on January 06, 2005 at 21:53:47 PT The GCW I wanted to add that I don't have faith in medicine. I do have faith in medicinal herbs. If only my son had followed his heart and refused drugs and tried holistic medicine he might have lived a little longer and I know he would have had way less pain.He asked me a question years ago before I even knew about medicinal marijuana. He said how come people he knew with Aids were living a long and healthy life that smoked marijuana but those with Aids who took the drugs were dying so very quickly. I didn't know the answer. Now I do. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by FoM on January 06, 2005 at 21:48:07 PT The GCW What you said about the money and your son I agree with you. I'm sorry too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by The GCW on January 06, 2005 at 21:12:35 PT The special doctor. What kind of doctor ignores the health risks of being put into a cage for using a plant with a God awesome safety factor?That is not much of a "doctor".420$2,000,000+ paid by the insurance company and My son still died.I think the money prolonged His pain.420It is better to trust Christ God Our Father instead of insurance.God created cannabis and humans to be together; -that separation may be what is raising cancer rates. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by cannabliss on January 06, 2005 at 19:38:20 PT Mmmm....Urine..... As Carl Clauberg and Stuart Hoffman demonstrate, an MD is no guarantee of human decency."Massive doses of progesterone" rather than cannabis? Sounds eminently reasonable to me!Of all the half-truth and innuendo in this marketing presentation - sorry...interview, the most disturbing is that Dr. Clauberg's company is responsibile for potentially ruining the careers of 150,000 (4,000,000 * 5% * 75%) people a year. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on January 06, 2005 at 12:51:58 PT One More Comment About my post on chemo. This was a big tragedy. When you have a small business with 4 or 5 employees you become close to them. I was very angry every time Brenda ( my managers's name) would come to work and tell me another doctor wouldn't treat her mother. Their family wasn't as upset as I was. I was furious inside. I've heard some think that we need to make our own way as a political view. This case is why I can't see it. This woman worked harder then many people. She raised a grandchild ( the mom couldn't handle it with two other small children ) who was totally disabled. He was almost brain dead at birth and she took him in and kept him a live and the last I knew he was still alive. Taking care of him wasn't very hard when he was young I was told but when he became a full grown man just getting him into a wheel chair needed a lift machine. Some people work but they don't get paid and she served another person like no one else I have ever met. I wanted to explain why I believe we need health care in America for everyone and this reason is the main reason why. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by JustGetnby on January 06, 2005 at 11:53:17 PT Kap.. Let them eat cake. Kap Cost may not be a factor for the good Dr, but it sure as H# ll is to the poor B$#^%$d who is disabled and without a job. I gotta shut up now, or I'm going to use words that aren't acceptable here. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on January 06, 2005 at 11:48:11 PT About Chemo I had the nicest lady as a manager of our video store for many years. Her mom and dad were very poor and he received some form of disability check but her mom didn't have any medical benefits. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was pushed from doctor to doctor because she didn't have the money to afford chemo. After about 6 months finally some doctor decided it was his moral obligation to treat her. If you wait long enough the person doesn't make it and that is what happened to her. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Hope on January 06, 2005 at 11:37:49 PT the b word I actually said it out loud this morning in reference to the quack. My husband was unbelieving at the statement that people without insurance weren't availed of chemotherapy. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Dankhank on January 06, 2005 at 11:33:13 PT Agree with all here... who feel that a little invective, albeit downplayed, seems to be appropriate when contemplating this man.Hoffman's profanity causes misery and death. Not profane enough? [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Deboche on January 06, 2005 at 11:29:06 PT ... He's full of BS about there not being good reasons to legalize medical marijuana but he doesn't say one single reason, good or not, to not legalize itHe's talking so much about chemotherapy being only for ppl with insurance cause it's so expensive so the drug cost isn't really a factor. I guess the insurance companies would love to have people get marijuana, but it would harm him, the poor struggling doctor [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Hope on January 06, 2005 at 11:28:09 PT Kap...thoughts My thoughts...except I thought he was the b.....d. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by tokenitallup4162 on January 06, 2005 at 09:45:15 PT: Bbbbbblllllllllaaaaaaauuuuggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! man, that feels better, the throwing up of his ignorance. I bet he votes for HEARST or DUPONT for president if they were to run. this is the kind of doctor that the good book talks about being SPEWED out of his mouth!!! I think he took too much thorazine himself. the reason why thorazine is good for anti-nausea causes is it makes you sleep most of the day, so hell, your gonna not be sick, if your freaking comatosed for the whole day.I think he definately needs a different line of work, or just shut the crap up about marijuana ALTOGETHER!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by BigDawg on January 06, 2005 at 09:29:05 PT Thorazine on par with Cannabis??? "Before it was legal, many of my patients would go out and get street marijuana. At the time, there were drugs called Compazine and Thorazine, which were also tranquilizers but had a fair anti-nausea effect. These drugs were on a par with marijuana, and none of them was very good, but they were better than nothing."Ok... this guy is a medical doctor... and he is claiming that Cannabis is on the same level as Compazine/Thorazine?ANYONE... even laymen... know that Thorazine is NOT benign in ANY way. I'm still waiting for that serious problem caused by cannabis other than prison.Nothing else this guy says is of any value after one sees such a statement. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Hope on January 06, 2005 at 09:08:18 PT Kap My thoughts exactly! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on January 06, 2005 at 05:16:27 PT: Would you want him for a physician? *Uninsured people don’t get chemotherapy, because they can’t afford it – so cost isn’t really a factor.*Do I detect a strain of Social Darwinism in here? Because they can't afford chemo, so any medical costs are not a factor. Neither are the poor dying b*****ds who can't afford his overpriced meds. They don't appear on this guy's radar screen. "They can have Marinol." (Sounds an awful lot like "Let them eat cake!") Uh, he's an oncologist, right? Sees people seriously nauseated from his chemo treatments (at $3,500 a pop) every day, right? Can't keep anything down. Not even a pill. But he tells people to try to swallow a pill. And if they barf it back up? I suppose they have to wash it off and 'try, try again'? Oh, I forgot, he only sees the people who can afford to see him. Anybody else who can't afford his super-pricey drugs, well, they're screwed. Would you want this man touching you? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mayan on January 06, 2005 at 03:58:50 PT Hoffman's job security... ...is the prohibition of cannabis.Stuart Hoffman does not believe in the medical use of marijuana – at least, not the kind you grow in your backyard or buy off the street. And he’d feel that way, he says, even if he wasn’t the chief medical review officer for the drug testing services at ChoicePoint, with clients ranging from the U.S. Government to large national retail chains.Suuuure!!! Hoffman knows that the cannabis laws keep the drug testing industry profitable and hence, keep him employed. What a scumbag.It’s not that the feds don’t want to relieve suffering of people like Angel Raich, the 38-year-old with a plethora of chronic conditions who has taken her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s that the medical establishment has studied pot and found it lacking.The medical establishment had no problem pushing Vioxx and the numerous other killer prescription drugs! They just can't make money off medical cannabis and will sacrifice the health of the sick for profit. This article seriously makes me want to vomit. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by afterburner on January 05, 2005 at 21:14:32 PT Boycott Wal-Mart It's the only way they'll ever get the message. Besides they've been destroying small businesses for too long and driving wages down to the subsistence level. Where else can I get some good videotapes, DVDs or a coffee pot?"A few people have prescriptions for Marinol, pure marijuana" Pure marijuana [sic]? What a maroon! Marinol, it's a synthetic replica."impaired"? Not, cannabis enhances. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on January 05, 2005 at 20:06:55 PT It's Saruman the White He's speaking for that giant lidless eye that hovers over Washington. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment