cannabisnews.com: U. Iowa to Hold First Medical Pot Fest 





U. Iowa to Hold First Medical Pot Fest 
Posted by FoM on February 23, 2000 at 08:48:28 PT
By Andrew T. Dawson, The Daily Iowan
Source: U-WIRE
The University of Iowa will be the first place in the nation to sponsor a formal instruction of the use of medical marijuana for health-care professionals this spring. The National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics will be held April 6-8 at the IMU. The conference will host more than 20 international authority speakers on the science based, clinical applications of medical marijuana. 
The UI College of Nursing and the UI College of Medicine will jointly sponsor the conference, in cooperation with Patients Out of Time, a nonprofit organization "dedicated to educating the general public and health-care professionals about the use of medical marijuana," said Al Byrne, co-founder of the organization. Byrne said the organization represents more than 70 groups composed of health-care professionals supporting the release of medical marijuana. He said the conference "marks the beginning of the re-education" for clinicians about therapeutic use of cannabis. "This is the first time physicians will have formal instruction on the use of marijuana as medicine," Byrne said. The conference will be an opportunity for those in the health field to earn continuing education credit, said Melanie Dreher, dean of the nursing school. Although the conference is privately funded, revenue received at the conference will benefit the UI, she said. Dreher said the UI was chosen as the location for the event partially because of research and because four of the eight legal U.S. recipients of marijuana reside in Iowa. Speaking in support of cannabis use as medicine will be Barbara Douglass, who receives legal medical marijuana. Douglass, a resident of Storm Lake, Iowa, suffers from muscular dystrophy, a disease that afflicts its victims with chronic muscle spasms. She said she receives a half pound of pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes per month to alleviate the spasms brought on by the disease. "I didn't want to do drugs," Douglass said. "But now I see it has medical value. I think it is the reason God planted it. When I take it my legs don't shake." In 1991, Douglass was one of the first 14 patients who received a prescription for marijuana through the Compassionate Care Program, a program which has since been discontinued. Marijuana has helped Douglass, who is legally blind from the disease, to lead a more enjoyable life, she said. Douglass smokes marijuana in conjunction with a daily routine of exercise, she said. "They want to hear that it works. I'm living proof," she said. During the three-day conference, speakers will cover such topics as the history of medical marijuana use, dosage and administration, potential health risks and the ethical problem regarding the use of cannabis as medicine, Byrne said. Commenting on some of the negative aspects of marijuana use will be Robert Block, an associate professor of anesthesia. Block, who has been researching the cognitive effects of chronic marijuana use since 1980, will discuss the effects of marijuana on the brain and mental ability. Block said his research has produced some suggestion of changes in the brain, though not definitively proven. "The concern is that chronic use can produce impairments of mental ability and whether it changes the activities of the brain," he said. "The intention is for it to be a science-based discussion of the positive and negative aspects. It's not a big political issue." By federal law, physicians cannot prescribe medical marijuana but are not forbidden to recommend the drug in specific cases, Byrne said. However, under this system, patients have no way to obtain the drug legally. The conference comes after the 1999 completion of an 18-month study of the "efficacy of marijuana" by the Institute of Medicine, mandated by the Clinton administration, Byrne said. "The study concluded three things," he said. "It is medicine, it does not lead to harder drugs, and it is not addictive." (U-WIRE) Iowa City, Iowa Published: February 22, 2000(C) 2000 The Daily Iowan via U-WIRE  Copyright © 1995-2000 Excite Inc. Related Article:Group of Iowa State U. Students Advocate MJ & Hemphttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4582.shtmlPress Release: Patients Out Of Timehttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3638.shtmlCannabisNews Articles From U-WIRE:http://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+U-WIRE 
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