Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2016 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2016 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://www.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Note: Prints only very short LTEs. Author: Lindsay Kalter HUB DOCS CALL FOR MORE RESEARCH, OVERSIGHT ON MEDICINAL MARIJUANA Some local doctors are calling for more scientific evidence to back marijuana's medicinal value, and say close oversight is needed for pot dispensaries and prescribers to ensure that it does not get into the wrong hands. "I think there's a good place and time for use of marijuana," said Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett, a doctor at Boston Medical Center who specializes in integrative medicine. "But we haven't as a society and as a medical institution done enough to oversee how people are getting prescribed marijuana." New details uncovered yesterday from a March crash that left a state police trooper dead showed that a 30-year-old Webster man driving the vehicle had just purchased marijuana at a dispensary, and was under the influence when the crash occurred. Gergen Barnett said she could not comment on the specific case, but added, "we need to be very carefully overseeing diagnoses to get medical marijuana, and overseeing dispensaries to make sure they're giving it to the right people. "I think we're not finding enough good evidence yet around medical marijuana to just open dispensaries willynilly," she said. But, she added, there are many patients who benefit from it, including cancer sufferers. "It's wrong to look at a single case and throw the baby out with the bathwater," she said. Dr. James S. Gessner, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, echoed Gergen Barnett's statements, saying that there is "insufficient scientific information about the safety of marijuana when used for medical purposes." "No guidelines exist for dosage, administering the drug, or other basic elements that would be contained in a prescription for another medication that has gone through rigorous clinical trials," he said in a statement. "Marijuana use also raises questions and concerns about safety in occupational settings and motor vehicle operations." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom