cannabisnews.com: Doctors See Use of Drug as Rare Doctors See Use of Drug as Rare Posted by FoM on May 16, 2001 at 22:59:07 PT By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff Source: Boston Globe Medical marijuana may be a hot-button issue in courts and legislatures, but to many doctors it is of little consequence. Many were unmoved by yesterday's US Supreme Court decision rescinding a California voter-approved provision allowing medical marijuana use. Though several states, including Maine, have similar provisions, actual prescribing of marijuana for patients is extremely rare, doctors said. It is usually a last resort, often at the urging of patients rather than doctors, they said. ''There's not that much use for marijuana anyway. I've got much better medicine for pain and nausea,'' said Dr. Gary Cohan, managing director of Pacific Oaks Medical Group in Beverly Hills, Calif., the largest private HIV treatment group in the United States. ''Marijuana is almost irrelevent in most of the cases that medicinal marijuana advocates cite.'' Some doctors did criticize the court's decision and, in general, US marijuana policy.''There are plenty of patients who could receive marijuana who are extremely sick and could get substantial benefits,'' said Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, a professor at Tufts University medical school and former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. ''Chemotherapy patients seem to get tremendous relief from the nausea. There is also some evidence that AIDS patients will regain appetite and have less nausea.'' Medical marijuana advocates took solace in the court's narrow approach to the issue. The justices did not dismiss marijuana's medical potential outright. Rather, the court noted the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it seems to have no recognized medical benefits while being addictive.In contrast are Schedule II drugs, like morphine, which are addictive but seen to have benefits in some cases. Were marijuana on Schedule 2, the court indicated, it might be permissible for states like California to permit its doctors to to prescribe it medicinally.But in order for marijuana to be shifted to Schedule 2, the federal government must be convinced by compelling research data. Efforts to obtain a large body of such data have failed, and prospects for doing so appear dim. ''Is there compelling data? The answer is no, but it's hard to get data on marijuana when it's illegal,'' Kassirer said.But many doctors simply want nothing to do with marijuana. They worry that prescribing it for medical use will appear as a general stamp of approval in the eyes of some. They also fear doctors could be dragged into the illegal drug trade by recreational users.Note: Many downplay impact of ruling.This story ran on page 7 of the Boston Globe on 5/15/2001. Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Raja Mishra, Globe StaffPublished: May 15, 2001Copyright: 2001 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Pot For Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9751.shtmlFor Some, Cannabis is Balm http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9750.shtmlO.C.B.C. Versus The U.S. Government News http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on May 17, 2001 at 08:32:09 PT: "Treason doth never prosper; what's the reason? "If treason doth prosper, none dare call it treason.In other words, if certain doctors, pharmaceutical companies, government bureaucrats who are supposedly being watchdogs of those same pharmaceutical companies - but hope to get cushy jobs with them after government 'service' - and LEOs all stand to gain by backing Marinol, the raw (and if legal, dirt cheap) cannabis will always be the loser. They aren't about to jump off of the gravy train when it's doing this well.While good people suffer horribly. I haven't read Dante in years, so I have no idea what Circle of Hell such profiteers from human misery will reside when it's their turn. But it would necessarily be pretty close to ol' Nick, Himself. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by dddd on May 17, 2001 at 08:25:28 PT Influence Here is a wonderful new website that lists who givesto non-profit organizations.....Shocking!...ddddhttp://www.cspinet.org/integrity/corp_funding.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 17, 2001 at 06:38:16 PT: More on Cannabis vs. Marinol In the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics 1(1), Rik Musty and Rita Rossi report in their article, "Effects of smoked cannabis and oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on nausea and emesis after cancer chemotherapy: A review of state clinical trials" pp. 29-42, 2001, on a series of state-sponsored studies from the '70's and early '80's that were previously suppressed. They all indicate that smoked cannabis (even the low grade from NIDA) was much more effective than oral THC (such as Marinol) in alleviating chemotherapy-associated nausea, with success rates up to 100%.The government does not want you to know these things. Why do you suppose that the information was only recovered through the use of the Freedom of Information Act? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Monvor on May 17, 2001 at 06:09:05 PT More misinformation "...rescinding a California voter-approved provision allowing medical marijuana use." The SC cannot invalidate/rescind Prop 215!!!Drug companies lobby against MMJ. I would think that the HMO's would love MMJ because it would cut down the amount of prescription drugs that they would have to payfor. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on May 17, 2001 at 06:07:56 PT: Curious omissions "''There's not that much use for marijuana anyway. I've got much better medicine for pain and nausea,'' said Dr. Gary Cohan, managing director of Pacific Oaks Medical Group in Beverly Hills, Calif., the largest private HIV treatment group in the United States. ''Marijuana is almost irrelevent in most of the cases that medicinal marijuana advocates cite.''This is not the first time Doctor Cohan has shoved pedal appendages into feeding orifice on this subject:THE OLYMPIAN - 15 Sept. 98 By Peter Eichstaedthttp://www.lousblues.com/docs.htmlfrom the article:OLYMPIA - A physician who works with AIDS patients in the Los Angeles area says medical use of marijuana is unnecessary because synthetic forms of the drugare legal and effective.But supporters of Washington's Initiative 692, which would make medical use of marijuana legal, counter that synthetics are not nearly as effective.Dr. Gary Cohan--a physician with Pacific Oaks clinic in Beverly Hills, one of the largest treatment centers for AIDS patients in the country--was in Olympia onMonday to discuss I-692 and its alternatives with health care professionals. Cohan argued that with effective alternatives available, I-692 is unnecessary."There is no other medicine we ask people to smoke," he said. "When a patient is in need, we shouldn't send them out to the corner to buy marijuana."(The implication is that the present purchase of the drug entails the obvious illegality. Were it legal the way this anti-in-doctor's-clothing would like to to be - dispensed directly by him, I have no doubt he'd change his tune. Just so long as he gets his take. But I can't help but wonder, though; how many of his patients no longer see him...because they have either gone to Clubs for the raw drug...or are six-feet-under?. -k.)Medical use of marijuana was approved in California in 1996, but Cohan said he prefers the synthetic drug called Marinol, produced by Roxane Laboratoroies inColumbus, Ohio, as a substitute for marijuana.Tacoma physician Dr. Rob Killian, a primary backer of Washington's I-692, says marijuana is more effective and has no negative health effects."Every published study that compares Marinol and marijuana shows that marijuana is more effective," he said. "But we have not been able to find out why because thefederal government has not allowed elaborate studies to occur."Cohan is supposedly a doctor. You would think a doctor would be the first to realize that someone incapable of keeping oral medications and food down would realize that no exceptions would be made for a THC/sesame oil capsule. As I said, I wonder how many of his patients have left him and his pills for the Clubs...and how many followed his regimen - and died? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 17, 2001 at 05:51:35 PT: And Then What? "''There's not that much use for marijuana anyway. I've got much better medicine for pain and nausea,'' said Dr. Gary Cohan"Good for him. What does Dr. Deity do when his medicine fails and his patients spew on the beautiful carpet in his Beverly Hills office? Now, isn't that special!Unbeknownst to him, most of his patients probably toke up before they enter the premises.This type of information in the article is worthless. Patients are not dummies. They frequently know whether their doctor is open to alternative methods. If not, they keep their mouths shut. My referring docs are continually shocked about the information I get from patients that they thought they knew of so well.Clinical cannabis is everywhere, and stretches beyond the imagination of the poll-takers and statisticians. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Charlie on May 17, 2001 at 04:40:41 PT In other words... Doctors are in bed with the pharmacuetical industry...well, these few...and want to be the one to dole out the prescriptions rather than having to compete with mmj. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Rambler on May 17, 2001 at 02:27:56 PT dawkturs "Doctors See Use of Drug Rare"Yea these 2 or 3 doctors did.Does that justify an articlewith this title? Well,that's like having an article that says;"Hippies Happy With Bush Tax Plan"or"Californians Dont Mind 35% Rate Increase in Power Bills being Retroactive From March"These type articles are all too common.After reading this,Joe Lunchbox will mentionto his co-workers at lunch that doctors say this. Yea,2 doctors said it,and all of a sudden,people think that most doctors say this.The same cheap ploy is used in anti-drug articles,that quote some bogus,biasedsource,and suggest that everyone thinks the same.What seems like a normal,harmless news story,is actually a subliminal piece ofexcellent propaganda. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: