Pubdate: Wed, 09 Jul 2014
Source: Metro (Halifax, CN NS)
Copyright: 2014 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Halifax
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4727
Author: Haley Ryan
Page: 4

NEW RULES FOR N.S. DOCS PRESCRIBING MARIJUANA

Policy Change. No Direct Billing, Distance Authorization

A new policy from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova 
Scotia aims to lift the haze around authorizing medical marijuana, 
the college's registrar said Tuesday.

The policy says physicians should not bill patients directly for 
services related to authorizing marijuana, and should prescribe the 
drug only to patients who they know in person.

"It's not available for a physician to bill a patient directly for 
giving a prescription in the course of a normal clinical encounter, 
so neither should the physician do this when authorizing medical 
marijuana," said Dr. Gus Grant.

Grant said the policy change stems from the April court decision that 
determined patients should have reasonable access to legal marijuana 
for medical purposes.

The "gatekeeper" for that access had long been Health Canada, Grant 
said, but the new regulation essentially gives the authorization role 
to the medical profession.

"We expect that the same rigour and process of assessment ... is 
applied to authorizing marijuana as it would be for writing another 
form of prescription," Grant said.

But while doctors should treat marijuana prescriptions the same as 
another medication, Grant said the drug is obviously different when 
it comes to the controversy surrounding its use medically and recreationally.

"When not used for medical purposes, ( it) is an illicit substance. 
It has a street value, it has a significant street demand," Grant said.

Physicians should also not receive a fee for prescribing marijuana to 
people via Skype or participate in clinics where long distance 
authorization is offered, Grant said.

He said the college would like to allow the reasonable access of 
marijuana for medical purposes, while ensuring they're "not enabling 
access to marijuana for non-medical reasons."

"If this is going to be part of mainstream medicine ... it should be 
attended to with an appropriate degree of professional conduct," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom