MEDICAL SOCIETY BEHIND ON MEDICINAL POT

[Drop Cap: With new developments in medical marijuana coming every day, legal medical marijuana is now a matter of when rather than if.]

It is good to see the state Medical Society is attempting to address the problem of properly diagnosing and treating chronic pain ( "Pain treatment guidelines issued" May 26 ).

But, while opiate pain meds may relieve pain, their side effects can be very debilitating, including oversedation, nausea, constipation and other problems.  Many patients are unable to tolerate high doses of these medications, leaving them in pain and with few options.

Fortunately researchers have found a solution, and the Medical Society could have heard about it had they accepted the invitation of the medical cannabis advocacy group, Patients Out Of Time, to attend the third National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, held May 20-22 in Charlottesville, Va.  Patients Out Of Time and the University of Virginia jointly sponsored the conference.

The conference included a presentation by Sandra P.  Welch, Ph.D., entitled, "Interactions of cannabinoids and opioids in analgesia: Potential for drug combination therapies."

Welch's research into the synergy between opioids and cannabinoids found that opioid analgesic potency can be enhanced by low doses of cannabinoids, indicating an interaction between the opioid and cannabinoid systems in our bodies.

In layman's terms, patients can take much lower doses of opiates in combination with cannabinoids, including whole cannabis marijuana to obtain superior pain relief with fewer side effects than a high dose of opiates.

Other presentations at the conference discussed how cannabis may provide symptomatic relief and slow the progression of certain chronic illnesses, including Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( ALS ) and others.

It was heartening to see the chairman of the Wisconsin Assembly's Public Health Committee, Rep.  Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, who sponsored a medical marijuana bill this session, in attendance at the conference and taking the opportunity to fully educate himself on this issue.  It seems rather ironic that a lawmaker is taking the issue of medical marijuana more seriously than the Wisconsin Medical Society.

With new developments in medical marijuana coming every day, legal medical marijuana is now a matter of when rather than if.  Doctors in some states will be ready, but in Wisconsin, physicians are apparently on their own.

Gary Storck Madison Director of communications Is My Medicine Legal YET?