Pubdate: Mon, 17 Dec 2012
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 The Vancouver Sun
Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Webpage: 
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/decries+medicinal+marijuana+changes/7708267/story.html
Author: Natalie Stechyson

CMA DECRIES MEDICINAL MARIJUANA CHANGES

New Program Proposed By Health Canada Takes Federal Government Out Of
The Equation

OTTAWA - The federal government's proposed changes to the medical
marijuana program would leave Canada's doctors in a lurch, dumping the
responsibility for a substance with very little clinical evidence onto
them, says the head of the Canadian Medical Association.

Health Canada announced Sunday that it plans to change the way that
people access medical marijuana, taking itself out of the production
and distribution of the substance and opening up the commercial market
to companies that meet "strict security requirements."

The concern is that physicians are now going to be asked to be the
sole gatekeepers to the drug, Dr. Anna Reid, the president of the
Canadian Medical Association, told Postmedia News.

"There haven't been any studies saying these are the risks versus the
benefits. And we know there are risks. There are risks of psychosis.
There are risks of problems with your lungs because you smoke it,"
Reid said.

"We also know anecdotally that there are perceived benefits in terms
of nausea and pain. But we don't know what the balance is."

According to Health Canada, there are currently over 26,000 people in
the Marihuana Medical Access Program. There were only 477 enrolled in
the program in 2002. The changes announced Sunday aim to treat
marijuana like any other narcotic used for medical purposes - patients
can purchase the appropriate amount from a licensed vendor as long as
they have a signed medical document, similar to a prescription, from a
health care practitioner. It would also mean production can no longer
take place in private homes, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said in a
news conference in Vancouver.

"Current medical marijuana regulations have left the system open to
abuse," she said in a statement.

"We have heard real concerns from law enforcement, fire officials, and
municipalities about how people are hiding behind these rules to
conduct illegal activity, and putting health and safety of Canadians
at risk. These changes will make it far more difficult for people to
game the system."

The new system would also cut red tape, striking the "right balance"
between patient access and public safety, Aglukkaq said. Physicians
are acutely aware that there aren't enough adequate ways to treat
chronic pain, but would like to see more research done on medical
marijuana, Reid said.

"If something goes wrong, we're the ones responsible and our No. 1
concern as physicians is for the safety of our patients," Reid said.

The Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries said in a
statement Sunday that they were worried about the quality of patient
care under the proposed regulations.

The government intends to implement the new system by March 31, 2014.
Health Canada has a 75- day comment period and will receive comments
until the end of February 2013. 
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