Pubdate: Sat, 10 Oct 2015
Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Nanaimo Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608
Author: Gemma Karstens-Smith
Page: 2
Cited: http://www.cfenet.ubc.ca/

POT HELD TO HIGHER STANDARD THAN OTHER MEDICINES, WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES

VANCOUVER - The Canadian Medical Association and the federal
government apply a far more rigid standard to prescribing marijuana
than other drugs, resulting in negative - or even deadly -
consequences, say experts from the B.C. Centre for Excellent 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 published
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 CMA 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 cannabis is beyond me," he said.

Several recent studies have shown prescription cannabis can have
therapeutic benefits, but the CMA 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 associated 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 associated with an elevated risk of mortality,
prescription opioids 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
followup."

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," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt