|
|
| Jaxx |
Ruling Lets physicians, Patients discuss pot
Justices' OK May Ease Marijuana Concerns
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News
October 15, 2003
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday means doctors now can talk to their patients about using medical marijuana without fear of being charged with a crime, a Denver attorney says.
"It sends the message to doctors that they don't have to worry about local prosecutors coming after them for having discussions with their patients or making a recommendation" to try medical marijuana, said Warren Edson, who represents 20 people who use the drug as medicine.
Advertisement
Tuesday's decision lets stand a federal appeals court ruling that protects doctors from criminal liability for recommending marijuana.
It is a rejection of federal efforts to punish doctors who discuss medical marijuana. The White House and the Justice Department oppose medical marijuana laws and had hoped the Supreme Court would rule that doctors who discuss marijuana use with patients can be punished.
Colorado is one of nine states that let people with cancer and other illnesses possess and use marijuana if their doctors sign a statement saying it is medically valuable. Currently, 280 Coloradans have such permission.
Local doctors say the ruling preserves a crucial bond between patient and healer.
The case has been billed as a clash between federal and state rights, but to doctors it's more about being able to speak frankly with their patients, said Dr. William Wright, associate medical director at Colorado Kaiser Permanente.
The court's decision "preserves that sanctity," Wright said. At Kaiser Permanente the physician makes the medical decisions, and those decisions are based on the best evidence of what works best, he added.
Dr. Paul Bunn, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, agrees. "We believe it is the physician's responsibility to inform patients of what science and research shows, no matter what it is," Bunn said. "I've had discussions with patients (about medical marijuana), so I'm glad the Supreme Court ruled this way," Bunn said.
Many doctors say marijuana is useful in dealing with pain, but many others say it does little good and that the benefits are outweighed by drawbacks, such as disorientation and involvement with an illegal drug.
Both Bunn and Wright say medical marijuana is rarely brought up by patients, and even more rarely recommended by doctors.
Marijuana's primary benefit is to lessen nausea and vomiting associated with the chemotherapy given to cancer patients, Bunn said.
Yet, several new medications, including Zofran and Anzemet, are better than marijuana at easing the side effects of chemotherapy, he said. Few patients will find that marijuana works better than those alternatives, he said.
Most CU doctors tell patients to try the other drugs first, and will discuss marijuana only if the other drugs aren't working or have debilitating side effects, Bunn said.
Wright concurs. "Most of us would first go with things that evidence suggests does provide relief," he said. "When we exhaust all those alternatives, and someone is still suffering, we would think of other alternatives."Because marijuana is an illegal drug, there have been no good studies comparing its effectiveness to
anti-nausea medications, he said.
Wright takes issue with a statement Tuesday by the deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Dr. Andrea Barthwell said there is no evidence that qualifies smoked marijuana to be called medicine and added, "There is a difference between feeling better and actually getting better."
In fact, Wright countered, "A lot of health care is not about cures. A lot of what we do is about helping people feel better."
Edson said some doctors have been reluctant to sign marijuana authorization forms because they fear prosecution.
Examples are Veterans Affairs doctors, who are federal employees, he said. As a result of Tuesday's ruling, "We're hoping to see a huge spike in the numbers (of authorization forms) just among veterans in Colorado," he said.
Ken Lane, spokesman for Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, said the practical effect of the ruling may be to protect Colorado doctors from federal prosecution. State law already protects doctors here who recommend medical marijuana.
About 340 applications have been submitted since the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry went into effect Jan. 1, 2001, said Gail Kelsey, administrator of the registry. Of those:
� 146 have been renewed, including 49 renewed twice.
� Three applications have been denied because the applications were incomplete.
� Two have been revoked.
� 42 cards have expired.
� 13 registrants have died.
Some 70 percent of the people whose one-year approval was about to expire applied for a second year, Kelsey said.
Kelsey said the law is clear: Registered patients and their caregivers may acquire, possess, transport, manufacture or grow marijuana for medical use, and patients may use it.
Patients, however, can't drive under the influence of marijuana, use it in public or harm other people as a result of using it.
Colorado has never faced a case of a person on the registry being busted buying the stuff, she said.
And none have faced reprisals from the federal government for being on the registry.
Kelsey's employer, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, won't make referrals to doctors. "They must have an established relationship with a doctor" willing to sign the form, she said.
But she does give workshops to doctors, telling them there have been no reprisals from the feds against doctors who've signed the consent forms.
"We've shown a 40 percent growth every year," she said.
|
|
|
| Joey |
Jacimbo !
[Edited by Joey] |
|
|
| glencar |
Even though I never touch the stuff, I'm surprised dope isn't legal yet. Why the delay? |
|
|
| Joey |
" Why the delay? "
..........................................
...[ Careful Editing by the Jacky ]....
|
|
|
| glencar |
Don't be a pussy, Joey. Why the delay? |
|
|
| Martha |
Because MaryJane has been demonized since the Thirties. How does that get turned around in a culture that thrives on pointing fingers and makes a demon out of a relatively mild drug? Crimmeny...It is a very mild drug compared, let's say, to alcohol.
We've been fed lies.
I use it in small amounts to assuage the nausea I have, the migraine headaches (of which nausea is a symptom) and for depression...and anxiety which I struggle with quite often. It helps alleviate all those symptoms and as long as I keep the use very moderate I find it helps tremendously.
Legalize it already! |
|
|
| SirMuddy |
I know it helps manu people health
but beside of that...
We don't need it only for health...
Why wrong with "having fun"
just for the fun of it...
Ok I roll one and full my scotch!
 |
|
CHAT
ROOM aka THE FUN HOUSE] [
RESTROOMS]