Re: How To Get Your Medicinal Pot, letter to the editor, Feb. 27. Dr. David Saul implies that if patients request a Health Canada cannabis authorization form, physicians are obliged by the provincial medical college to sign the form or refer them to a physician who will. This is incorrect and it is reckless to promote cannabis as a harmless medicine. I have seen patients whose lives have been destroyed by cannabis addiction or cannabis-induced psychosis. Smoked cannabis has been shown to cause precancerous changes in various tissues. Also, THC serum levels rise rapidly when smoked, creating a risk for motor vehicle accidents. The oral and inhaled versions of cannabis are far safer. [continues 60 words]
In its Marihuana Medical Access Regulations, Health Canada authorizes physicians to prescribe dried cannabis, an unproven and potentially dangerous substance, under the guise of medical treatment. The program is intended to help patients with serious illnesses, such as HIV infection and cancer, but severe arthritis is also listed as an indication. Surveys confirm that chronic pain and arthritis are common reasons for medical cannabis use.1 As analgesics, however, pharmaceutical cannabis products are weaker and less well tolerated than opioids.2 While cannabis users testify to its therapeutic benefits, they also commonly report pleasant psychoactive effects that are easily confused with direct analgesia. [continues 959 words]
