CONFERENCE TO COVER LATEST DISH ON POT

UH Staging Gathering For Doctors And Laymen On Marijuana

Doctors unable to answer patients' questions about marijuana, either as a
medicine or abusive drug, can get the latest information at a conference
May 30-31 at the Ala Moana Hotel.

The John A. Burns School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry is presenting
the conference from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days.

"We know lots of doctors are being asked questions about marijuana by
patients," said Dr. David Friar, University of Hawaii assistant professor
in psychiatry and board-certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine.

"A lot of them don't have information to answer questions. This conference
is a real source for that. My agenda is to get all doctors in Hawaii to be
aware of the conference."

Titled "Medical and Social Issues," the talks will address the science of
marijuana, including recent scientific findings concerning brain receptors,
clinical research, positive and negative consequences of using marijuana,
the legal status of medical marijuana and current social policy, including
implications for adolescents, the criminal justice system and the medical
profession.

National and international perspectives on marijuana use as well as issues
unique to Hawaii will be presented.

Speakers will include Dr. Lester Grinspoon, psychiatry professor at Harvard
Medical School and former director of the Clinical Research Center at
Massachusetts Mental Health Center. A nationally prominent authority on
marijuana, he will discuss medical uses and social costs of the current policy.

His book, "Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicine," has been published in many
languages, and he has testified before legislative committees in many states.

Others will be:

Dr. Donald Abrams, assistant director of the AIDS Program at San Francisco
General Hospital and professor of clinical medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco. He is chairman and principal investigator of the
Community Consortium's Terry Beirn Community programs for Clinical Research
on AIDS. He received the assistant secretary for health's award for
outstanding accomplishment in 1990.

San Francisco attorney Jonathan Weissglass, co-counsel for the Conant
federal class-action lawsuit against Barry McCaffrey. McCaffrey is the
National Drug Policy Control office director. He, along with other federal
officials, is represented by Weissglass on behalf of physicians who
recommend medical marijuana and seriously ill patients.

Local participants will include former state Sen. Andy Levin, now with
Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim's office; state Public Safety Director Ted
Sakai; Dr. William Wenner, Big Island surgeon; Dr. William Haning,
physician addiction specialist, and Drs. Ernest P. Alaimalo and David
Wolkoff, fellows in the UH medical school's Addictions Psychiatry Residency
program.

Levin will help examine the marijuana issue in Hawaii, and Sakai will
describe "the balancing act" of enforcing narcotics laws while carrying out
a legislative mandate to register patients for medical marijuana.

Wenner, former director of an outpatient heroin detoxification clinic in
California, will describe his experiences in prescribing medical marijuana.

Haning, associate professor of psychiatry in the medical school and program
director of the Addiction Psychiatry Residency Program, will focus on
marijuana dependence and its treatment.

Alaimalo, recipient of the 1999-2000 Residence Research Award, is
co-investigator for a study on methamphetamine dependence and also for a
study on the cultural differences in reasons for seeking treatment of
alcohol abuse and dependence.

Wolkoff, 1999-2001 recipient of the Ginsburg Fellowship, is interested in
substance-induced psychotic and mood disorders and cross-cultural and
refugee psychiatry.

Friar expects participants from the mainland and other countries. He's
hoping for 250 people. Although it's designed for doctors, the conference
is also open to nurses, social workers, substance abuse counselors and
others interested in scientific knowledge of marijuana.

Although Hawaii and various other states have legalized marijuana for
certain medical purposes, it remains an illegal drug under federal laws.

The Conant case in California followed threats by McCaffrey that doctors
would lose their drug licenses if they talked to patients about medical
marijuana. The result was a permanent injunction saying doctors couldn't be
prosecuted for that.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that a federal law classifying
marijuana as illegal has no exception for seriously ill people.

"The Supreme Court decision is not going to be the end of the debate
because it is so variant with science and practicality," Frier said.

It raises questions about whether it will have any impact, he said.

Registration fees for both days of the conference, including lunches, is
$225 for physicians and $125 for non-physicians. The Hawaii Consortium for
Continuing Medical Education has designated the activity for credits. The
Hawaii Medical Association is participating in the event with the medical
school.