Pubdate: Wed, 23 Dec 2015 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Page: A10 Medical Marijuana EVIDENCE, PLEASE Medical marijuana's eloquent advocates make persistent and powerful claims for its therapeutic value. It is often portrayed as benign and risk-free. But the challenge for doctors is that, unlike most other drugs, there is a paucity of scientific evidence to support its status as a medicine, describe its benefits, itemize its side effects and recommend the right dosage.Marijuana simply hasn't been tested to the same degree as most other pharmaceuticals. Even doctors who want to prescribe it don't know as much as they should. As a medicine, cannabis needs more study - so that doctors who prescribe it can feel they are doing so based on scientific evidence, not anecdote. It's understandable that people who've found relief in marijuana use, or who simply want to enjoy its time-honoured recreational effects without threat of prosecution, are impatient with the go-slow approach of research. But it never makes sense to dismiss scientific caution. And there is one area of therapeutic use where a more thoughtful approach to risk assessment is needed. Canadian doctors are increasingly being asked by parents to prescribe marijuana to children. The Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) has now addressed this issue in a policy statement that underlines how little is known about a drug that seems to be getting a free pass as an all-purpose remedy of choice. The CPS acknowledges the historic use of marijuana to treat a condition known as refractory epilepsy. But the evidence to back up anecdotal reports of its positive effects is sparse. Medications derived from cannabis appear to reduce pain and spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis, but it's not clear whether children would benefit - the studies have not been done. General use of marijuana as a children's pain reliever is even more problematic. The benefits have not been properly studied, and there may be adverse effects - from delayed motor skills to cognitive impairment. Children who take marijuana therapeutically may also be at greater risk of dependence than adults. And in what situations, if any, should cannabis be smoked by children? Medical marijuana may be an excellent treatment for many conditions. But Big Pharma doesn't get to make unfounded claims about new pharmaceuticals, and neither should weed. Medicine is an evidence-based science. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom