DOCTORS WANT TO STUDY POT'S EFFECT ON PAIN

Marijuana seems to help some of their patients, say doctors studying pain
in Nova Scotians. But they want to conduct their own research to be sure.

"Many patients are telling us they're turning to smoking it, or eating it,
or putting it in their tea," said Mary Lynch, a psychiatrist at the QEII
Health Sciences Centre's pain-management unit. She said pot gives them
relief when opiates don't.

"They will come to us and tell us it's helping, and ask us if we'll assist
them in applying for a Health Canada exemption."

She sometimes complies.

"There are a number, where the level of suffering is severe enough, I have
felt it is reasonable," Lynch said.

Clinic director John Clark said the unit asked 220 patients whether they
have tried marijuana. Fifteen per cent said they use pot to control pain,
and two-thirds of those use it regularly because they say it works.

"When they have access, they do see some improvement," Clark said, adding
believes pot "is worthy of further investigation."

But he doesn't favour smoking it.

"Smoking is not a good way of getting any drug," Clark said. "We should be
looking at other delivery mechanisms for getting the same chemical."

The pain clinic is seeking government money to conduct its own research, in
conjunction with Health Canada's research into the medicinal use of
marijuana. Clark said specialists have a "number of proposals" on the books.

But Lynch and Clark caution marijuana won't be a cure-all. As with
prescription opiates, it won't "take the pain away," and it doesn't work
for all people.

"But it appears to some there is benefit," he said. "There's no doubt there
should be more research in this area to find out if they do work ... If
they don't work, then we should say that. If they do work, then we should
say that, as well."