Interview with CBC Fredericton on Medical Marijuana

The CMA is concerned about the role physicians will now have in the prescription of medical marijuana. In the absence of clinical evidence, physicians are placed in a very uncomfortable position.

2 Comments

saltysalish says:

31 Mar 2014 at 11:46 am

I don’t understand how anybody can take the position that there is not sufficient evidence that medical cannabis is an effective treatment for a number of ailments. How is it that doctors and drug companies are so willing to promote Sativex and Marinol, both of which are based on THC but not the plant itself? Cannabis is more versatile, and considered to be more effective by those suffering from MS or Chrones disease. Must every “effective” drug be patentable and cost ten times what it’s worth in order to be approved? Cannabis is inherently a very complicated drug that has a lot of variation but is also incredibly therapeutically active and safe. Let’s study it seriously.

Reply
1. Chris Simpson says:
  
  10 Apr 2014 at 6:40 am
  
  Thank you for your comments. We agree that targeted study is required. Currently, there is insufficient evidence as to dosing, specific conditions for which marijuana may be of benefit, drug interactions, and safety profile to embrace marijuana as a medicine. We realize that this is frustrating for patients who have found individual benefit and who have come to rely on marijuana to treat their condition. However, the wholesale adoption of marijuana for a long list of medical conditions is premature until proper studies are done. The history of medicine is peppered with stories of therapies which appeared to be effective, only to be shown to be ineffective when evaluated in a proper, scientific, randomized controlled trial. We have called for and would welcome these studies so that the proper role of marijuana in the treatment of medical conditions is clarified.
  
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