Pubdate: Mon, 17 Dec 2012
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Natalie Stechyson

PHYSICIANS' GROUP DECRIES MEDICAL MARIJUANA CHANGES

CMA: Notes No Studies Done Weighing Pot's Benefits Versus
Risks

OTTAWA - The federal government's proposed changes to the medical
marijuana program would leave Canada's doctors in a lurch, dumping the
responsibility for a substance with very little clinical evidence onto
them, says the head of the Canadian Medical Association.

Health Canada announced Sunday that it plans to change the way that
people access medical marijuana, taking itself out of the production
and distribution of the substance and opening up the commercial market
to companies that meet "strict security requirements."

The concern is that physicians are now going to be asked to be the
sole gatekeepers to the drug, Dr. Anna Reid, the president of the
Canadian Medical Association, told Postmedia News.

"There haven't been any studies saying these are the risks versus the
benefits. And we know there are risks. There are risks of psychosis.
There are risks of problems with your lungs because you smoke it,"
Reid said.

"We also know anecdotally that there are perceived benefits in terms
of nausea and pain. But we don't know what the balance is."

According to Health Canada, there are currently over 26,000 people in
the Marijuana Medical Access Program. There were only 477 enrolled in
the program in 2002.

The changes announced Sunday aim to treat marijuana like any other
narcotic used for medical purposes - patients can purchase the
appropriate amount from a licensed vendor as long as they have a
signed medical document, similar to a prescription, from a health care
practitioner.

It would also mean production can no longer take place in private
homes, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said in a news conference in
Vancouver.

"Current medical marijuana regulations have left the system open to
abuse," she said in a statement.

"We have heard real concerns from law enforcement, fire officials, and
municipalities about how people are hiding behind these rules to
conduct illegal activity, and putting health and safety of Canadians
at risk. These changes will make it far more difficult for people to
game the system." The new system would also cut red tape, striking the
"right balance" between patient access and public safety, Aglukkaq
said.

Physicians are acutely aware that there aren't enough adequate ways to
treat chronic pain, but would like to see more research done on
medical marijuana, Reid said.

"If something goes wrong, we're the ones responsible and our No. 1
concern as physicians is for the safety of our patients," Reid said.

The Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries said they
were worried about the quality of patient care under the proposed
regulations. 
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