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According to the latest available figures from Health Canada, a little less than 5,000 Canadians are allowed to possess medical marijuana to treat conditions that range from severe pain to epilepsy. Under federal regulations, there is nothing to stop a physician from using medicinal marijuana too. But an American addictions specialist is sounding the alarm about doctors who do.
Doris Gundersen, Medical Director of the Colorado Physician Health Program - which oversees treatment of impaired physicians in that state - says doctors who use medical marijuana to treat their own debilitating conditions such as chronic pain, nausea related to cancer or epilepsy should not be permitted practice medicine for as long as they use marijuana.
That is a policy of the state's impaired physicians program. It's exactly the same policy that's in effect for physicians who abuse alcohol or drugs of abuse (for example cocaine) as well as those who are addicted to prescription painkillers. Gundersen made her remarks at the 2012 International Conference on Physician Health held recently in Montreal.
Colorado is the first U.S. state to do this because it recognized the growing risk to patients. The move was prompted by a growing number of reports of physicians who were legally using the substance. The Colorado State Board of Medicine - the people who license physicians - appealed to the Physician Health Program for advice on how to manage this. Over a period of time, the impaired physicians program had received referrals of several physicians for management of substance abuse. The program happened to see they were also using marijuana for medicinal purposes. In other words, these doctors had legitimate Medical Marijuana Registry identification cards.
In her presentation at the conference, Dr. Gundersen described the situation of patients in Colorado applying for permission to use medical marijuana as going viral. She said there's been en exponential increase in the number of people in the state obtaining Medical Marijuana Registry identification cards - from approximately 17,000 in 2009 to nearly 128,000 by June of last year. She quoted an article in the Denver Post that there are more medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver than there are Starbucks and liquor stores combined. If the growth in the number of doctors taking medical marijuana just grows in parallel to the growth in the number of patients, then that number alone would probably swamp the ability of the state to monitor those physicians and protect patient safety.
If medical marijuana is relatively safe for patients, why stop physicians who take it from seeing patients? Medical marijuana may be relatively safe for patients, but it's a far cry from that to say that physicians are competent to practice medicine while on treatment. Dr. Gundersen said experts at the Colorado Physician Health Program liken MDs to airline pilots. She cited one study showing that pilots show evidence of impairment on flight simulators up to 24 hours after smoking a marijuana cigarette. Worse still, the pilots in that study were unaware that they demonstrated impairment. Another study demonstrated that long-term users of marijuana showed errors in decision-making fifty to seventy percent of the time - compared to eight percent in non-users. If you're wondering why Colorado opted for zero tolerance, it's because research has shown that there is no safe level of use. To get pain relief from marijuana, you need a level of 10 nanograms of marijuana per ml. Even at levels as low as three nanograms per ml, patients show some evidence of impairment. While the policy seems harsh, because of the trust with which MDs are held, Colorado argues that physicians should be held to a higher standard than non-physicians.
I think provincial colleges - the people who license physicians here - should take a good look at the policy in Colorado. If the number of people smoking medical marijuana is less than 5,000 in all of Canada, then the number of MDs using medical pot must be vanishingly small. If that's the case, knowing provincial colleges, it's unlikely they would draft a 'made-in-Colorado' for such an minor threat to public safety.
That said, I see no reason why MDs can't refrain from using medical marijuana if they want to continue practicing here. It may seem unfair, but I agree with the argument that physicians - like airline pilots - are a special case. Having a license to practice medicine is a privilege that I believe should come with special conditions, including one that prevents MDs from using marijuana. Frankly, I think proponents of medical marijuana have overstated the benefit. I hardly see depriving doctors of the option to take it as particularly onerous.
You can also hear me discuss this in my regular "house doctor" conversation with CBC host Dave White of CBC North's Airplay afternoon show.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: cbc.ca
Author: Dr. Brian
Contact: CBC.ca - Contact Us Page
Website: MDs who take medical marijuana | White Coat, Black Art with Dr. Brian Goldman | CBC Radio
Doris Gundersen, Medical Director of the Colorado Physician Health Program - which oversees treatment of impaired physicians in that state - says doctors who use medical marijuana to treat their own debilitating conditions such as chronic pain, nausea related to cancer or epilepsy should not be permitted practice medicine for as long as they use marijuana.
That is a policy of the state's impaired physicians program. It's exactly the same policy that's in effect for physicians who abuse alcohol or drugs of abuse (for example cocaine) as well as those who are addicted to prescription painkillers. Gundersen made her remarks at the 2012 International Conference on Physician Health held recently in Montreal.
Colorado is the first U.S. state to do this because it recognized the growing risk to patients. The move was prompted by a growing number of reports of physicians who were legally using the substance. The Colorado State Board of Medicine - the people who license physicians - appealed to the Physician Health Program for advice on how to manage this. Over a period of time, the impaired physicians program had received referrals of several physicians for management of substance abuse. The program happened to see they were also using marijuana for medicinal purposes. In other words, these doctors had legitimate Medical Marijuana Registry identification cards.
In her presentation at the conference, Dr. Gundersen described the situation of patients in Colorado applying for permission to use medical marijuana as going viral. She said there's been en exponential increase in the number of people in the state obtaining Medical Marijuana Registry identification cards - from approximately 17,000 in 2009 to nearly 128,000 by June of last year. She quoted an article in the Denver Post that there are more medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver than there are Starbucks and liquor stores combined. If the growth in the number of doctors taking medical marijuana just grows in parallel to the growth in the number of patients, then that number alone would probably swamp the ability of the state to monitor those physicians and protect patient safety.
If medical marijuana is relatively safe for patients, why stop physicians who take it from seeing patients? Medical marijuana may be relatively safe for patients, but it's a far cry from that to say that physicians are competent to practice medicine while on treatment. Dr. Gundersen said experts at the Colorado Physician Health Program liken MDs to airline pilots. She cited one study showing that pilots show evidence of impairment on flight simulators up to 24 hours after smoking a marijuana cigarette. Worse still, the pilots in that study were unaware that they demonstrated impairment. Another study demonstrated that long-term users of marijuana showed errors in decision-making fifty to seventy percent of the time - compared to eight percent in non-users. If you're wondering why Colorado opted for zero tolerance, it's because research has shown that there is no safe level of use. To get pain relief from marijuana, you need a level of 10 nanograms of marijuana per ml. Even at levels as low as three nanograms per ml, patients show some evidence of impairment. While the policy seems harsh, because of the trust with which MDs are held, Colorado argues that physicians should be held to a higher standard than non-physicians.
I think provincial colleges - the people who license physicians here - should take a good look at the policy in Colorado. If the number of people smoking medical marijuana is less than 5,000 in all of Canada, then the number of MDs using medical pot must be vanishingly small. If that's the case, knowing provincial colleges, it's unlikely they would draft a 'made-in-Colorado' for such an minor threat to public safety.
That said, I see no reason why MDs can't refrain from using medical marijuana if they want to continue practicing here. It may seem unfair, but I agree with the argument that physicians - like airline pilots - are a special case. Having a license to practice medicine is a privilege that I believe should come with special conditions, including one that prevents MDs from using marijuana. Frankly, I think proponents of medical marijuana have overstated the benefit. I hardly see depriving doctors of the option to take it as particularly onerous.
You can also hear me discuss this in my regular "house doctor" conversation with CBC host Dave White of CBC North's Airplay afternoon show.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: cbc.ca
Author: Dr. Brian
Contact: CBC.ca - Contact Us Page
Website: MDs who take medical marijuana | White Coat, Black Art with Dr. Brian Goldman | CBC Radio
