Pubdate: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2011 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE A COMPLEX ISSUE Few of us would take medical marijuana away from the sufferers we read about in a special report on the treatment in The Journal and Ottawa Citizen - like the woman with multiple sclerosis and the former soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder. Still, medical marijuana remains a problem for physicians and governments. It is both an illegal street drug and a home remedy for a variety of health problems, and the line between those two uses is not always clear. As long as marijuana is an illegal high, there is a possibility people will try to scam the system to get their weed. As we learned in the special report, the number of applications for medical marijuana made by people saying they have severe arthritis has jumped 2,400 per cent in a two-year period. Severe arthritis is a category that requires the OK of only one physician - unlike people with hepatitis or ulcerative colitis, who must first get the approval of a specialist. That appears to be a popular loophole. There are others, and abuse is inevitable in a system that has the drug being grown by individuals and small operators, not manufactured by large pharmaceutical companies. That democratic nature of marijuana is both its blessing and curse. It's fascinating to hear the ways that patients themselves devise to take the drug - puffers, capsules, tea, brownies, even a topical cream. If the drug wasn't illegal, we could let people grow their own and medicate themselves as they choose, without interference from physicians or the government. The reality is, though, that Canada cannot legalize marijuana unless the United States follows suit. We share a long border with the world's greatest power and if we want to preserve our easy access across that border, our illegal drug laws need to be similar to those in the U.S. That means pot is going to stay illegal for awhile, so its medical use needs to be controlled by someone. Currently, physicians and Health Canada jointly approve patients for medical marijuana. Under proposals being considered by Health Canada, the federal involvement would end and physicians alone would be able to grant approval. Such a move would put the medical profession in a difficult position as most physicians remain uneasy about approving medical marijuana for their patients. The uses and efficacy of medical marijuana have simply not been scientifically tested and defined enough to confirm it as a legitimate treatment. Indeed, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta states flatly: "The college does not recommend physicians prescribe medical marijuana to patients." The scientific studies that physicians typically rely on might be a long time coming in this case. Big drug companies appear disinterested in marijuana, possibly because it holds little promise of profitability. And the federal government terminated a medical marijuana research project in 2006, which is a pity given the need for better understanding of what marijuana can do for various ailments. Health Canada might also replace the plethora of smallscale growers of medical marijuana with licensed commercial producers. Currently, 12,000 people across the country are licensed to grow medical marijuana. That proliferation has created problems for municipal governments that find grow-ops in residential neighbourhoods causing fire hazards and other safety concerns. Replacing all those growers with fewer, larger commercial operators seems likely to reduce safety concerns and improve control over the delivery of the marijuana to approved patients. What the federal government shouldn't lose sight of is that this drug works for many people who suffer terrible pain and misery from cancer and other debilitating conditions. While Ottawa attempts to tighten the rules to prevent illegal uses, it should also take responsibility for making sure people who need this drug can still get it legally. Non-medicinal marijuana is illegal, but it's not cocaine or heroin. Let's work on getting marijuana to those who use it for legitimate medical reasons. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.