Pubdate: Wed, 16 May 2001
Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI)
Copyright: 2001 Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Contact:  http://www.starbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/196
Author: Helen Altonn, Star-Bulletin

CONFERENCE TO COVER LATEST DISH ON POT

UH Staging Gathering For Doctors And Laymen On Marijuana

Doctors unable to answer patients' questions about marijuana, either as a 
medicine or abusive drug, can get the latest information at a conference 
May 30-31 at the Ala Moana Hotel.

The John A. Burns School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry is presenting 
the conference from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days.

"We know lots of doctors are being asked questions about marijuana by 
patients," said Dr. David Friar, University of Hawaii assistant professor 
in psychiatry and board-certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine.

"A lot of them don't have information to answer questions. This conference 
is a real source for that. My agenda is to get all doctors in Hawaii to be 
aware of the conference."

Titled "Medical and Social Issues," the talks will address the science of 
marijuana, including recent scientific findings concerning brain receptors, 
clinical research, positive and negative consequences of using marijuana, 
the legal status of medical marijuana and current social policy, including 
implications for adolescents, the criminal justice system and the medical 
profession.

National and international perspectives on marijuana use as well as issues 
unique to Hawaii will be presented.

Speakers will include Dr. Lester Grinspoon, psychiatry professor at Harvard 
Medical School and former director of the Clinical Research Center at 
Massachusetts Mental Health Center. A nationally prominent authority on 
marijuana, he will discuss medical uses and social costs of the current policy.

His book, "Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicine," has been published in many 
languages, and he has testified before legislative committees in many states.

Others will be:

Dr. Donald Abrams, assistant director of the AIDS Program at San Francisco 
General Hospital and professor of clinical medicine at the University of 
California, San Francisco. He is chairman and principal investigator of the 
Community Consortium's Terry Beirn Community programs for Clinical Research 
on AIDS. He received the assistant secretary for health's award for 
outstanding accomplishment in 1990.

San Francisco attorney Jonathan Weissglass, co-counsel for the Conant 
federal class-action lawsuit against Barry McCaffrey. McCaffrey is the 
National Drug Policy Control office director. He, along with other federal 
officials, is represented by Weissglass on behalf of physicians who 
recommend medical marijuana and seriously ill patients.

Local participants will include former state Sen. Andy Levin, now with 
Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim's office; state Public Safety Director Ted 
Sakai; Dr. William Wenner, Big Island surgeon; Dr. William Haning, 
physician addiction specialist, and Drs. Ernest P. Alaimalo and David 
Wolkoff, fellows in the UH medical school's Addictions Psychiatry Residency 
program.

Levin will help examine the marijuana issue in Hawaii, and Sakai will 
describe "the balancing act" of enforcing narcotics laws while carrying out 
a legislative mandate to register patients for medical marijuana.

Wenner, former director of an outpatient heroin detoxification clinic in 
California, will describe his experiences in prescribing medical marijuana.

Haning, associate professor of psychiatry in the medical school and program 
director of the Addiction Psychiatry Residency Program, will focus on 
marijuana dependence and its treatment.

Alaimalo, recipient of the 1999-2000 Residence Research Award, is 
co-investigator for a study on methamphetamine dependence and also for a 
study on the cultural differences in reasons for seeking treatment of 
alcohol abuse and dependence.

Wolkoff, 1999-2001 recipient of the Ginsburg Fellowship, is interested in 
substance-induced psychotic and mood disorders and cross-cultural and 
refugee psychiatry.

Friar expects participants from the mainland and other countries. He's 
hoping for 250 people. Although it's designed for doctors, the conference 
is also open to nurses, social workers, substance abuse counselors and 
others interested in scientific knowledge of marijuana.

Although Hawaii and various other states have legalized marijuana for 
certain medical purposes, it remains an illegal drug under federal laws.

The Conant case in California followed threats by McCaffrey that doctors 
would lose their drug licenses if they talked to patients about medical 
marijuana. The result was a permanent injunction saying doctors couldn't be 
prosecuted for that.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that a federal law classifying 
marijuana as illegal has no exception for seriously ill people.

"The Supreme Court decision is not going to be the end of the debate 
because it is so variant with science and practicality," Frier said.

It raises questions about whether it will have any impact, he said.

Registration fees for both days of the conference, including lunches, is 
$225 for physicians and $125 for non-physicians. The Hawaii Consortium for 
Continuing Medical Education has designated the activity for credits. The 
Hawaii Medical Association is participating in the event with the medical 
school.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom