Pubdate: Sat, 10 Oct 2015
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Gemma Karstens-Smith
Page: 3
Cited: http://www.cfenet.ubc.ca/

B.C. DOCTORS CRITICIZE CANADA'S STRICT MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULES

VANCOUVER - The Canadian Medical Association and the federal
government apply a far more rigid standard to prescribing marijuana,
resulting in negative - or even deadly consequences, say experts from
the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Medical marijuana is held to a different standard than other
prescription drugs despite research suggesting it has therapeutic
benefits, say three experts from the centre in a commentary publish
Friday in the Journal of the Canadian Public Health
Association.

"When it comes to prescription marijuana, patients' needs should be
considered above political considerations," Dr. Julio Montaner, one of
the authors, said in a news release.

"There could be great harm in ignoring the medical uses of
marijuana."

The government and the Canadian Medical Association are being overly
cautious, co-author Dr. Thomas Kerr said in an interview.

"This is just not how we deliver medical care and why we're doing it
in the case of cannibals is beyond me," he said.

Several recent studies have shown prescription cannabis can have
therapeutic benefits, but the Canadian Medical Association and others
have failed to acknowledge the research, resulting in a position that
isn't based on evidence, Kerr's commentary said.

Other studies have shown prescribing cannabis may lead to a reduction
in overdoses and deaths association with prescription opioid.

"This can't be taken too lightly because Canada, like the U.S., is in
the midst of an epidemic of prescription opioid abuse and related
overdose deaths," Kerr said.

While marijuana is not association with an elevated risk of mortality,
prescription opioid contribute to nearly half of all overdose deaths -
a leading cause of accident related mortality, the article points out.

Under Canada's current medical marijuana laws, patients must obtain
prescription cannabis from federally licensed producers, generally
through the mail. There are currently 26 licensed producers listed on
Health Canada's website.

The idea of sending prescription drugs through the mail is odd, Kerr
said.

"We would never do that in the case of treating someone with
diabetes," he said.

"Really, people should have access to experts who can counsel them on
appropriate dosing, potential side effects and their management and
who can also provide other options and clinical follow-up."

The caution towards cannabis comes because it is illegal and because
the federal government "has been making up the science on the fly,"
Kerr said, pointing to the example of Stephen Harper saying that
marijuana is "infinitely worse" than tobacco.

"It's unfortunate that the federal government has really failed to
deliver an effective medical-cannabis program and it's unfortunate
that they've also misrepresented the science in this area," he said.

Kerr said government and other interested agencies should consider
implementing a system where cannabis is legalized, and both medical
and recreational use are regulated using evidence-based discussions
and approaches.

Kerr is co-director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS's
Urban Health Research Initiative. His co-authors are Montaner,
director of the centre and Stephanie Lake, a research assistant at the
centre.
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MAP posted-by: Matt