Pubdate: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 Source: Windsor Star (CN ON) Copyright: The Windsor Star 2002 Contact: http://www.canada.com/windsor/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501 Author: Craig Pearson Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada) MDS REFUSE TO PRESCRIBE MEDICINAL POT Medical marijuana is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain in Canada because many doctors are refusing to sign the prescriptions, say frustrated patients. David, a Lakeshore resident, said the drug he credits with relieving chronic leg pain from multiple sclerosis is being denied to him because doctors are afraid of lawsuits. Without prescriptions, he and other patients may have to turn to illegal marijuana sources for relief, David said. He said Health Canada granted him an exemption last year to obtain marijuana because it agreed it would help his medical condition. "Then they turn around, knowing full well that I'm not going to get better - -- and make it impossible for me to keep the exemption." David said he and his wife Sandra (not their real names) have made it a part-time job to find a specialist who will sign his 25-page medical marijuana renewal form. The doctor who suggested marijuana in the first place, a neurologist at an MS clinic in London, will not re-sign, citing potential lawsuits. Health Canada began giving exemptions on compassionate grounds in 1999 to seriously ill patients -- suffering severe pain with MS, spinal cord injuries, HIV/AIDS, cancer, arthritis and epilepsy -- who were not getting results with traditional medication. New regulations A new set of rules aimed at easing access to medicinal pot -- the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations -- were introduced July 30, 2001. Exemptions under the regulations require a doctor's signature or, depending on the condition, two specialists' signatures. But two months after the rules came into effect, the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Protective Association advised their members not to sign medical marijuana applications unless they felt particularly knowledgeable about cannabis. "Our focus is on the patient," said Dr. Dana Hanson, president of the Canadian Medical Association. "We're here for a healthy Canadian population. We're not here to experiment on them. The Canadian Medical Association did not feel that there was compelling, reasoned, sound, scientific evidence to support medical marijuana. But the CMA strongly supports looking into research into this area." Licences to possess and cultivate marijuana must be renewed every year and many of the first licences are expiring. But without language absolving doctors of liability -- as is the case in the eight U.S. states allowing medical marijuana -- doctors fear they could be sued for malpractice if a patient were to have an adverse reaction. "Basically, Health Canada is putting the onus on physicians to be the judges of whether or not to prescribe something that has not been tested, so that does put a physician at risk and it certainly puts a patient at risk," said Barbara Wilson, spokeswoman for the Canadian Medical Protective Association. "We don't know exact dosages, we don't know how it interacts with other drugs. There's lots of clinical information we don't know because these studies don't exist." Health Canada launched clinical studies into medical marijuana Oct. 9, through the Community Research Initiative of Toronto, which focuses on people with HIV/AIDS. Why do patients seek marijuana as therapy? "I'm in pain 24/7," said David, who has tried many pain relievers without success. "It's just a little bit of relief when I come home. "It's the difference between having a life and not having a life." MARIJUANA STATS Marijuana Medical Access Regulations started: July 30, 2001 Number of "authorizations to possess" granted: 405 Number still active: 403 Number of exemptions given since 1999 under old system: 666 Number still active: 376 Total number of Canadians currently allowed medical marijuana: 779 - -- Health Canada - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom