cannabisnews.com: Doctors Face Dearth of Data on Effects Doctors Face Dearth of Data on Effects Posted by CN Staff on July 08, 2006 at 22:29:46 PT By Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle California -- San Francisco's new pot club regulations underscore the broader issues surrounding the medical marijuana industry, including the complications doctors face in recommending a drug they often don't know a lot about. Medicinal marijuana has been legal in California since voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996. There are only a handful of published studies that analyze the positive effects of marijuana use in controlling symptoms such as pain and nausea, but anecdotal evidence is strong enough that most doctors agree that the drug is at least worth further investigation. Physicians don't prescribe marijuana, but can recommend that patients use it. In fact, patients must have a letter from their doctor recommending that they use marijuana before they are allowed to buy the drug in California. Still, a decade after Californians made medicinal marijuana legal, few doctors feel comfortable recommending it to their patients and most don't know enough about the drug. "You still have a relatively small number of physicians who are in any way active in this," said Steve Heilig, director of public health and education for the San Francisco Medical Society. "Reluctance comes from the lack of real information we have and federal attempts to crack down on the use. And there is a real perception that there is a lot of abuse of good intentions, in terms of the pot clubs." Physicians who are knowledgeable run up against a variety of barriers, including difficulty securing federal grants for clinical studies and finding avenues for passing that information on to other doctors. Dr. Donald Abrams, a professor of medicine at UCSF, has been studying medicinal marijuana for decades and is considered a global expert, but he's had trouble getting published his most recent study on the drug's effect on HIV patients. "That's a little upsetting because it is a promising study showing cannabis is useful," Abrams said. "More and more we're going to find that it (marijuana) has great potential. My fear is, once you get the evidence it's difficult to disseminate it." Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/rs6tvSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Sunday, July 9, 2006Copyright: 2006 Hearst Communications Inc.Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles: Fisherman's Wharf Bid Tests New Club Laws http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21978.shtml San Francisco Has a Problem With Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21961.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by observer on July 10, 2006 at 08:51:29 PT Research for Pot Healing? Think Again San Francisco's new pot club regulations underscore the broader issues surrounding the medical marijuana industry, including the complications doctors face in recommending a drug they often don't know a lot about.That sounds so reasonable. But then, you remember. Like the wise and good and omniscient doctors know all about Viox? Or all about phenphen? or Thalidimide? Or how Prozac makes kids self-mutilate? Dr. Donald Abrams, a professor of medicine at UCSF, has been studying medicinal marijuana for decades and is considered a global expert, but he's had trouble getting published his most recent study on the drug's effect on HIV patients... because it is a promising study showing cannabis is useful," Abrams said. "More and more we're going to find that it (marijuana) has great potential. My fear is, once you get the evidence it's difficult to disseminate it."Yeah, that's right. The US Government only pays for studies that might show the harms of pot. Politicians and bureaucrats need reasons to rationalize their killing, stealing, and destruction. They aren't about to spend taxpayer money on studies that show they were wrong to shoot people in the back over pot, or jail them for a reefer. No. And note, it is the National Institude on Drug Abuse. Its reason for existence is to study the bad things about drugs, not the healing properties of pot. If Abrams wants to keep those big research dollars rolling in, he needs to structure his studies so that it appears he can only discover how harmful pot is. NIDA exists to provide a scientific/medical veneer to purely political acts of jailing people for pot. That's what the other "researchers" do to get their NIDA money, they find bad things about pot. That's how the game is played. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 08, 2006 at 22:59:04 PT News Article from United Press International 15 Arrested at Calif. Marijuana Clinics***SAN DIEGO, July 9 (UPI) -- Recent raids on marijuana dispensaries in the San Diego area have angered people who use the drug as medicine. Federal and state law enforcement agencies arrested 15 people Thursday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. On Friday, protestors gathered at the San Diego County Courthouse. "How can you bust people for breaking the law when there are no rules?" asked Dion Markgraaff, one of the organizers of the protest. "That's what everybody wants -- regulation." Marijuana became legal in California for people whose doctors recommend it, after voters approved a referendum. But the federal government has refused to recognize medical marijuana, and the state law and regulations remain confusing. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has said that she will continue to raid and close marijuana dispensaries. Many people who are undergoing chemotherapy for cancer or who have AIDS say marijuana relieves pain and allows them to have an appetite for food. Copyright: 2006 United Press International, Inc.http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060709-013646-9149r [ Post Comment ] Post Comment