Medical Marijuana
Posted 6/1/2011
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There is a myth that marijuana cures all chemotherapy ills. Wish that it were so. In my experience, it is one more possible treatment that may or may not be useful. Certainly, I have known people who felt that smoking pot got them through chemo and others who found it didn't help at all--and were better served by compazine or Emend or one of the other prescribed medications. Drugs to help chemo-induced nausea have come a long way in the last twenty years; I actually remember more patients using and appreciating pot when there were fewer other effective options.
This is an article from MedPage about medical marijuana. Per usual, I am giving you the introduction and then a link to read more:
AAPM: Docs Get Advice on Medical Marijuana
By Ed Susman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Reviewed by March 29, 2011
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WASHINGTON -- Doctors in every state in the U.S. have the right to recommend medical marijuana for patients with a qualifying condition, such as cancer or HIV, but they can find themselves in legal hot water if they actually prescribe it -- even in those states where medical marijuana has been legalized.
That's because although the First Amendment right of free speech allows physicians to recommend medical marijuana, under a 2009 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, they may not say or do anything to help patients obtain the drug, according to Joshua Murphy, JD, of the Mayo Clinic Legal Department in Rochester, Minn.
Murphy gave clinicians a primer on the do's and don'ts in the new -- and expanding -- playing field of medical marijuana, during a panel discussion here at the American Academy of Pain Medicine meeting.
"Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have laws permitting the use of medical marijuana," Murphy explained. Those states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAPM/25601
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