Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jul 2015
Source: Guardian, The (CN PI)
Copyright: 2015 The Guardian, Charlottetown Guardian Group Incorporated
Contact:  http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/174
Author: Kat Murphy
Page: A8

FORGET ABOUT THE CANNABIS BANDWAGON

Doctors owe it to Islanders to become informed about medical
marijuana

Recently, Dr. Des Colohan, retired pain-specialist, opined in this
newspaper the "dangers" associated with using cannabis. He summed up
his opinion on cannabis with the quote:

"In my experience, the therapeutic value of cannabis in managing
chronic pain is limited by its adverse effects. We still have a lot to
learn about the appropriate clinical use of 'medical marijuana' and
should not be in a hurry to jump on this bandwagon."

Dr. Colohan fails to mention that the "bandwagon" of medical cannabis
has been rolling for thousands of years within the Chinese, Ayurvedic
and Arabic medicinal traditions and, until relatively recently, even
in our Western allopathic medicine system, cannabis tinctures were
standard medical fare in any doctor's black bag.

While we would all prefer to live in a world where no one needed to
use medical cannabis, given the reality of life on P.E.I. and our high
rate of cancers and other diseases, we should take our heads out of
the beautiful red sand and give them a collective shake.

In the case of chronic pain management, it is a case of the lesser of
two evils for many patients deciding to use cannabis, as opposed to
opioids and, fortunately, the cannabis sativa plant is relatively
gentle in its side effects, if used wisely and with caution.

Addictions to opioids is a major issue on P.E.I., some go as far as to
say that it has reached epidemic proportions, yet the Island's only
pain specialist did not feel it was appropriate to prescribe less
toxic, medical cannabis because of the absence of clinical trials.

Addiction rates to opioids (Percocet, codeine, etc.) routinely
prescribed by Island doctors, are much higher and the costs to Island
families are immeasurable.

Educating the public about the safe and effective use of cannabis is
the first step in providing patients with an alternative to the more
dangerous pharmaceuticals killing our citizens.

Medical cannabis is a rapidly evolving field of medicine and its
practical applications are many and diverse.

A proactive physician would be well advised to go to the effort to get
the necessary training to be informed and provide his or her patients
with reliable, unbiased research about "cannabis as medicine" for a
spectrum of neuro-degenerative brain diseases, and other conditions.

Medical cannabis is not a "bandwagon", it is a "tsunami", and P.E.I.
physicians need to heed the warning to "get with it" and provide their
patients with reliable and current information for their health options.

PEIMUMM agrees with Dr. Colohan that we all have a lot to learn about
medical cannabis.

We encourage P.E.I. health care professionals to become better
educated about medical cannabis and connect to some of the latest research.

We welcome any opportunity to debate/educate the merits of medical
cannabis with Island healthcare professionals, government leaders or
any interested organization. Please email Kat Murphy, co-chair of PEIMUMM, is an artist and medical cannabist 
patient/advocate, who lives in Charlottetown.
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MAP posted-by: Matt