Medical Marijuana: 76% Of Doctors Would Prescribe It, Poll Finds
Three out of four doctors would prescribe marijuana to a patient who was experiencing pain from cancer, according to the results of a poll published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The poll included 1,446 votes from 56 states and 72 countries, though most responses came from North America. For the poll, doctors were presented with the case of a 68-year-old woman named Marilyn, who was experiencing symptoms from metastatic breast cancer. They were asked to vote on whether medical marijuana should be prescribed to her for these symptoms, and were also presented with two opinion pieces written for doctors both for and against medical marijuana.
Researchers found from the results that "physicians in favor of medicinal marijuana often focused on [their] responsibility as caregivers to alleviate suffering," they wrote. "Many pointed out the known dangers of prescription narcotics, supported patient choice, or described personal experience with patients who benefited from the use of marijuana."
Meanwhile, researchers noted that those who were against the use of medical marijuana said that there is not enough evidence to support its use, and they also raised concerns about dosages and side effects.
via Huffington Post
Interesting question - I am personally for it. I used marijuana recreationally when I was much younger. (I am now 52.) But, I had the opportunity to try it a couple of times when in pain and the results were really amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have a resection scheduled for later this month to relieve an ulcer that burst almost causing me to bleed out several weeks ago. When meeting with the surgeon last week I mentioned the idea to one of his surgical residents. His reaction was surprising to me - he was opposed to it because he does not feel there have been enough replicated studies to warrant it. He questioned whether the damage caused by smoking it would create their own problems and outweigh any short term benefits.
I did not want to get into a philosophical debate with him, but can only speak from experience and the experiences of many others who I've read about that have found relief from their symptoms and pain. If there is a worry about smoking it, then make brownies or cookies. My question it - is it better to take Vicodin or Oxycontin or smoke some marijuana? You can't get addicted to marijuana, but I'm always worried one day I'll be dependent on Opiates.
Seems to me that the only reason marijuana is illegal in the USA goes back to a prohibition no different than that of the 1920s. The companies that make alcohol have very strong lobbies. Ronald Reagan created the war on drugs. Neither policy has been effective in stemming the tide of illegal drugs. As we struggle as nation to find new sources of revenue, legalizing marijuana has the effect of eliminating the billions of dollars spent annually enforcing the laws and putting lots and lots of people behind bars. The cost goes away, and the product could be taxed like alcohol or cigarettes are now bringing in new revenues.
I've gotten off topic and onto the question of why it is illegal in the first place. Going back to your question - there is no logical reason why we should not use marijuana to control our symptoms instead of much more dangerous drugs we use today.
There are some drawbacks, but no worse than with any other drug. I recently heard an argument about people smoking medical marijuana and then driving. I don't know about any of you but I take enough drugs now that say "don't drive or operate machinery..." These I only take at night when I don't plan to drive. During the day, I never take anything stronger than Tylenol (unless I'm at home). So, adding marijuana to the list of allowed drugs is no more dangerous than me driving if I take Ambien to sleep, Benicar for my high blood pressure, Clonazepam for anxiety or Vicodin. You need to use it responsibly as you would any other drug.
So, I personally believe that legalizing it at least for medical purposes is the right thing to do.